Gogoi gives free hand to DCs, SPs

By a Staff Reporter

Guwahati, April 21: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today gave a free hand to Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of police to take on-spot decisions during "sudden occurrences and events", but warned that any decision taken with a malafide intention will not get Dispur's backing.

The Chief Minister was addressing the iugural session of the two-day conference of DCs and SPs at the Administrative Staff College here.

“During sudden developments, you need not consult Dispur. You have the freedom to take on-spot decisions. If the decision is taken with good intention, Dispur will back it. If the intention is malafide, we won’t support it,” Gogoi said.

During his address to the district heads of administration and police, the Chief Minister stressed on time-bound implementation of government schemes and bridging of the communication gap between the administration and the public.

“You have to earn goodwill from the people. Only then can the administration run smoothly,” he said.

Gogoi, who also holds the Home portfolio, took a dig at the police machinery, insisting that they need to be more alert during mob controls.

“There is a failure somewhere, maybe intelligence or some other failure. Lathicharge and firing should be the last resort, not the first. The aim should be to bring the situation under control and not provoke the mob,” Gogoi said.

He stated that the same mistakes were being repeated and advised the DCs and SPs to go through the past records of their predecessors.

The Chief Minister also felt that the mindset of officers serving in Assam is “slow” and asked them to “go aggressively” in the service of the public. “Perhaps, Assam is a state where political interference is the least in the country. There are some instances here and there. But generally, all the officers complete their three year tenure in one posting here,” he claimed.