Go to the hill districts too : Imphal durbar
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 12 2017 -

Imphal durbar. Significant to note that Chief Minister N Biren seems intent on sending out all the right messages to the people and setting aside the 10th of every month as Chingi Numit or rather a day to meet people from the hill districts is right on track.

It however remains to be seen whether this will ultimately result in better co-ordination between the State Government and the people of the hills.

It is in line with this that the Chief Minister has also asked his Council of Ministers, MLAs, the Chief Secretary and top civil and police officers to keep aside the day to meet the people from the hill districts and listen to their grievances.

How sincerely the Ministers, MLAs and the officials follow the instructions of the Chief Minister remains to be seen but a new beginning has been made and this is definitely welcome.

Remember how numerous middle men have been exploiting their closeness to the powers that be at the expense of the people, particularly the people from the hills.

Not only this, the Chief Minister has also announced that the 15th of every month will be kept aside as Meeyamgi Numit a day when the people can personally call on the Chief Minister, the Council of Ministers, MLAs and top ranking Government officers and highlight their grievances and bring to the notice of the Government any pressing matter.

The meaning behind setting aside these days should not be lost on anyone. In setting aside two days in a month to have an audience with the people, the Chief Minister is ringing out the message that the people do have the right to air their grievances to the people who matter.

As with anything to do with governance and the Government, the intent and action should be complementary to each other.

Listening to the grievances of the people is a major step forward, but the listening part should be reciprocated by action taken up.

Hopefully the Chief Minister will take the needed measures to ensure that the audience granted to the people is translated into something concrete for the people, or else it will get reduced to an exercise of all hot air with no substance.

This is where the Chief Minister, the Council of Ministers and the top Government officials need to ensure that they are surrounded by the right people, or else no one can write off the possibility of some unscrupulous people, taking advantage of their closeness to the seat of power, while working out the modalities of letting the people interact with the people at the power centres.

The first Chingi Numit seems to have gone by smoothly and it is here that no efforts should be spared to ensure that it remains this way.

Apart from this, the Chief Minister may also seriously study the proposal that Cabinet Ministers be made to visit the hill districts in turn, along the line of Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructing his Council of Ministers to visit the North East States in turn.

The first 10th of the month, after the Chief Minister announced Chingi Numit has come and gone and obviously people’s attention will be on the first 15th of the month, for Meeyamgi Numit.