New Delhi: With the objective of getting first-hand information from the ground to formulate a dynamic policy to tackle Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his senior ministers the charge of one state each so that they can get authentic reports from the states.
The ministers, for the last one month now, have been speaking daily to District SPs, District Collectors and Divisional Commissioners of the states they have been given charge of, on a rotational basis, to get first-hand information of the problems that officials on the ground are facing while tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
After these interactions, a two-page report is compiled by the minister’s staff, which is then sent to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for including it in the discussions that are taken up at the topmost level regarding revising rules of engagement on the ground.
The ministers have also been asked to speak to people who have large networks across society, such as Padma award winners and journalists so that information collected is not just from government officials, but also from those who are in the private sector so that no information or crucial input is missed.
According to multiple ministry officials, with whom The Sunday Guardian spoke to, these reports are being diligently complied as the PMO has asked the ministers to give these reports utmost importance and not treat these as just a formal exercise.
“The idea is to have inputs from as many places and from as many people as possible. Once the report is generated by the ministers and shared with the PMO, the PMO officials then analyse it to see what the major problems are and what important suggestions have come from the states. These inputs and suggestions are then discussed at the policy level meetings on Covid-19 that takes place on a regular basis,” an official told The Sunday Guardian.
According to another ministerial staff, since the inputs shared by the DCs, DMs and SPs with the ministers may miss out on what is happening on the ground, hence the PMO has asked the ministers to get inputs from other components of society, such as award winners and journalists.
“In fact, the idea to start special trains to ferry migrants, who are stuck in different states, to their home states had come up during this exercise. Lack of response and cooperation among different ministries have also been identified through this exercise and dealt with,” a Union Minister told The Sunday Guardian.