Change Assam by making it a great place to work, MLAs told

GUWAHATI, Oct 25: One of the key levers for building Brand Assam will be to make the state a great place to work, and if we want to make it a good work place, we have to see that people take pride in saying they belong to Assam. The people have to be proud of hailing from Assam, respect their co-citizens and should be able to trust their government. The ability to create an environment which builds, nurtures and attracts talent will go a long way in building Brand Assam and the MLAs of the State can contribute to this goal in their own capacities. This was stated by Mr Prasenjit Bhattacharya, CEO, Great Place to Work Institute, India, while addressing the second phase of the Sabal Bidhayak programme here today.

The six-phase orientation programme for the MLAs has been initiated by the Speaker of the Assembly Mr  Ranjeet Kumar Dass and the design and coordition of the programme is done by the Guwahati-based think-tank Centre for Development and Peace Studies.

Addressing the legislators, Mr Bhattacharya, whose Institute works with companies across the world with the concept of how to make them a great place to work, suggested a few steps to make Assam a great place to work. These include: (a) Articulate the vision of Brand Assam - Study mission to some of the countries, states, cities that are great workplaces, (b) Evolve the roadmap to build brand Assam for potential investors, customers and talent, (c) Recognize the Best Workplaces in Assam., starting with the Government departments and the Public and Private Sector Enterprises, and (d) Make government instrumentalities accountable. He said that the MLAs should formulate long-term constituency development plans.

Addressing the legislators on Central and State Development Schemes, Dr Ravi Kota, IAS, Commissioner and Secretary, Fince, Government of Assam laid emphasis on the opportunities and challenges of an MLA and said that it is very important for an MLA to have knowledge regarding different schemes and funds allotted, understanding of the budget and know what are the schemes applicable to his or her constituency. He also imparted information on the present status of different schemes in the State.

Speaking to the participants on ‘An Ideal Political Culture for Assam’, Prof. Dilip Kumar Barua, former Principal, Cotton College, pointed out five pillars on which an ideal political culture stands. Those are—owing respect towards the democratic ideals, the rules and regulations of the Assembly to be followed, ethical sense, behaviour of an MLA, study of an MLA on the subject of his work and the importance of listening to own conscience. Such an MLA will have a bright image in the minds of the people.

Addressing the legislators, Rotary peace fellow and editor of Amar Asom Mr Prashanta Rajguru said that the political culture of India before partition was really encouraging because of the prevailing commul harmony and sense of brotherhood. The political culture changed drastically after partition, he said. Mr Rajguru said that the people’s representatives must show respect to the public mandate.

All the sessions were followed by intense interactions with all the participants.