Chandigarh, May 21: In a bid to create synergy for transformational reforms in key areas of governance, the State Governance Reforms and Public Grievances department has engaged the services of 10 Governance Fellows and One Lead Governance to work cohesively on matters of governance across various departments under the guidance of the Punjab State Advisory Council (PSAC).
The department has also now planned to recruit a team of 23 district development fellows in partnership with Ashoka University to assist the District Administration on governance related matters.
Disclosing this here today, Additional Chief Secretary (Governance Reforms) Vini Mahajan said that the services, of these young fellows having varied background of education as well as experience, are being utilized. This initiative has introduced into the government a fresh energy, perspective and dedication for transformation.
Divulging details, Mahajan said that in a short period of six months, the fellows are now actively working with multiple departments including Departments of Governance Reforms and Public Grievances, Industries and Commerce, Revenue, Social Security and Women and Child Development, School Education, Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education and Research, Drinking water and Sanitation, Punjab Mandi Board and others.
Elaborating further, ACS said that the team has been proactively and tirelessly working to support the departments during the unprecedented crisis introduced by COVID-19. They have been drafting Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Advisories besides documenting guidelines for clear communication at the field level. The Daily Status Report on the status of COVID-19 in Punjab, now shared on social media and multiple groups is prepared by the team everyday till late into the night so that the decision makers have updated information available at hand the next morning.
Mahajan further pointed out that this special team is also creating proformas for data collection and management, analysis of collected data to understand and take insights from these reported numbers, research on practices by other states governments to act as reference and dissemination of authentic information to the citizens on COVID related matters are among the multiple efforts the team has undertaken and continues to perform with as much sincerity.
Lead Governance Ms. Avni mentioned that though the tasks being carried out amid COVID-19 have been quite humongous yet the team is ensuring that these projects started prior to the pandemic are not stalled and are kept at pace. This includes multiple projects with external agencies such as the World Bank Group, IDInsight, Chandler Institute of Governance Singapore, YuWaah (UNICEF), Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship and others. This value added by this team has alleviated the pre-existing hesitance among departments and Officers around recruiting young fellows.
It may be recalled that the PSAC was constituted by the State Government last year under the chairmanship of Captain Amarinder Singh to undertake transformational reforms in key areas of governance and to accelerate the overall development process in Punjab.
