Siddaramaiah demands action from DCs, ZP CEOs amid rising dengue cases, deaths

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reprimanded Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Zilla Panchayat (ZP) CEOs, questioning them on actions they have taken to prevent spread of dengue.

Chairing a meeting of DCs, ZP CEOs and District In-charge Secretaries at the Vidhana Soudha Conference Hall this morning, Siddaramaiah stated that DCs can’t serve the people if they have a ‘Maharaja mindset’.

“DCs are not Maharajas and precise measures must be taken to prevent dengue. If not, the top brass of District Administration will be held responsible, and strict action will be taken,” Siddaramaiah warned.

CM Siddaramaiah underlined the role of the DC-SP-CEO in effectively implementing Government programmes. He stressed the need for perfect coordination and said that DCs must maintain constant contact with District Health Officers (DHOs) to control the spread of vector-borne diseases.

“The DCs must have information and statistics at their fingertips and work with enthusiasm and dedication. Only then can growth and progress be achieved,” he noted.

Handle problems locally

Discussing the Janaspandana programme, the CM said, “The Government has been receiving as many as 15,000-20,000 applications or representations on public grievances, which is an enormous number. This situation would not have arisen if the DCs and other higher-ups had responded to public problems in earnest.

“The DCs and CEOs must remember that they are not in office just to forward applications and wash their hands of the matter. People come to me because their issues are not addressed at the local or district level,” he noted.

Pointing out that there are complaints that the DCs, Tahsildars and other taluk-level officers are not in direct contact with the people, Siddaramaiah said officials have not been following his directions properly regarding responding to public complaints and works.

Stressing that officials must compulsorily issue ‘Soil Health Cards’ to farmers, he said that soil fertility must be tested at least once every two years. All these tasks should be carried out with perfect coordination between taluk and district-level officials.

Pending land dispute cases

Addressing rising cases of land disputes in Tahsildar Courts, the CM said, “According to available statistics, there are 8,234 pending cases. Additionally, there are 37,587 RRT (Transfer of Rights) cases pending before the Assistant Commissioners, 7,522 of which have been pending for over five years.

Similarly, 10,838 cases are pending in the DC offices, 4,207 of which have been pending for over five years. If this is the situation, how can the DCs direct their subordinate officers such as the Assistant Commissioners and Tahsildars?” he questioned. He noted that no cases were pending before a few DCs and wondered why this was not possible for others.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and several other Cabinet Ministers, DCs, CEOs, and in-charge Secretaries of all districts were present.