Dr MS Lakshmi Priya receives prize in New Delhi
HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, April 21: In a significant feat, Bongaigaon district, on Thursday, bagged the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration, 2021 for its initiative ‘Sampoorna’ in the category ‘Innovation-District’. Dr MS Lakshmi Priya, IAS, district collector of Bongaigaon, received the prestigious award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a mega event held in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on the day.
Sharing her elation, Dr MS Lakshmi Priya dedicated the award to her daughter and to the people of Bongaigaon without whose support, she said; the achievement would not have been possible. She thanked everyone associated with the project (Sampoorna) for their relentless and active efforts which helped bring name and fame for Bongaigaon.
She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised her and wished for more success in the days ahead. The PM encouraged her to work with increased vigour for the all-round growth and development of the district (Bongaigaon), especially in the field of women empowerment, she said.
She said Union minister Jitendra Singh, who was present at the event, suggested that the concept of budding mothers / budding pairs, on which the Bongaigaon district worked, should be introduced across the country.
The award was given on the occasion of Civil Services Day. Besides Modi and Jitendra Singh, principal secretary to Prime Minister P K Mishra, cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister greeted all the ‘Karma Yogis’ on the Civil Service Day. He started with suggestions for improving governance and knowledge sharing. He suggested all the training academies can virtually share the process and experiences of the award winners on a weekly basis. Secondly, from the award-winning projects, one scheme may be chosen for implementation among few districts and the experience of the same may be discussed in next year’s Civil Service Day.
The Prime Minister recalled that he has been interacting with civil servants for the last 20-22 years, first, as chief minister and later, as the Prime Minister. It has been a mutually learning experience, he said. Modi underlined the significance of this year’s celebration as it is taking place in the year of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. He asked the administrators to call past district administrators in this special year to the district. This will infuse new energy in the district and will provide a welcome dynamism in the perspective of district administration informed by the experience of the past. Similarly, chief ministers of states can call former chief secretaries, cabinet secretaries from the state in this landmark year to commemorate and take benefit from the flag-bearers of administrative machinery that have contributed significantly in the journey of Independent India. This will be an appropriate way of honouring the civil service in the year of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
He said ‘Amrit Kaal’ is not just for celebration or praising the past and journeys from 75 to 100 year just cannot be routine. “India @100 can’t be routine. This 25-year period should be seen as a unit and we should have a vision from now onwards itself. This celebration should be a watershed.” Every district should move with this spirit. There should not be any let up in the efforts and this is the time to rededicate ourselves to the pledges and directions that Sardar Patel gave on this day in 1947, the Prime Minister said.
