Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu directs officials to make government services citizen-friendly

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to simplify government services, strengthen the Public Grievance Redressal System and improve mobile connectivity. He also reviewed the Navachetana screening programme and urged faster establishment of the CII Global Leadership Centre

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday directed officials to make government services more accessible and citizen-friendly.

Reviewing the performance of various departments at the Real Time Governance Society Centre at the Secretariat, the Chief Minister directed officials to simplify and streamline service delivery mechanisms, according to a press release.

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“The chief minister directed officials to make government services more accessible and citizen-friendly and to simplify and streamline service delivery mechanisms,” it said.

Officials informed the Chief Minister that the government had already initiated measures to simplify procedures, beginning with 11 categories of services.

Naidu directed officials to further strengthen the Public Grievance Redressal System and make it more accessible to citizens.

He also suggested enabling people to lodge complaints online and through the Mana Mitra WhatsApp governance platform, including by allowing them to submit voice messages.

When officials informed him that nearly 3,000 locations currently faced mobile connectivity challenges, the Chief Minister directed them to resolve the issues within three months, the release said.

In addition, officials gave a presentation on the ‘Navachetana’ Early Childhood Development Screening Programme being implemented by the Department of Women and Child Welfare.

They explained that the programme assesses children’s physical and mental development and that nearly 34,000 children had been screened across the state so far.

According to the government website, ‘Navchetana’ is an activity-based curriculum designed to promote the holistic development of children from birth to three years of age.

It is based on the principles of serve and return, caregivers’ three core practices – love, talk and play – and positive guidance.

Officials said teams were conducting household visits as part of the programme, besides screening children attending anganwadi centres. They added that a pilot project would be implemented to ensure appropriate follow-up after screening.

Officials said a circular had been issued mandating field visits by senior officers.

Accordingly, secretaries will spend three days, heads of departments six days and district collectors eight days every month on field visits, the release said.

The Chief Minister instructed officials to identify areas facing major issues and provide immediate solutions.

Officials said Standard Operating Procedures had been issued to improve the Public Grievance Redressal System.

Later in the day, Naidu visited the RTGS Centre with Confederation of Indian Industry Director General Chandrajit Banerjee and other representatives.

The Chief Minister urged them to expedite the establishment of the CII Global Leadership Centre in Andhra Pradesh.