Bongaigaon bags PM’s award for excellence in public administration

April 21: In a significant feat, Bongaigaon district on Thursday, bagged the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration, 2021 for its initiative ‘Sampoorna’ in the category ‘Innovation-District’. Dr. MS Lakshmi Priya, IAS, district collector of Bongaigaon, received the prestigious award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a mega event held in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on the day.

Sharing her joy, Dr. MS Lakshmi Priya dedicated the award to her daughter and to the people of Bongaigaon without whose support, she said, the achievement would not have been possible. She thanked everyone associated with the project (Sampoorna) for their relentless and active efforts which helped bring name and fame for Bongaigaon.

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised her and wished more success in the days ahead. The PM encouraged her to work with increased vigour for the all-round growth and development of the district (Bongaigaon), especially in the field of women empowerment. Union minister Jitendra Singh, who was present at the event, suggested that the concept of budding mothers / budding pairs, on which the Bongaigaon district worked, should be introduced across the country, added the Deputy Commissioner.

The award was given on the occasion of Civil Services Day. Besides PM Modi and Jitendra Singh, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, P K Mishra, Cabinet Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba were also present.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister greeted all the ‘Karmayogis’ on the Civil Service Day. He started with suggestion for improving the governance and knowledge sharing. He suggested all the training academies can virtually share the process and experiences of the award winners on a weekly basis. Secondly, from the award-winning projects, one scheme may be chosen for implementation among few districts and the experience of the same may be discussed in the next year’s Civil Service Day.

The Prime Minister recalled that he has been interacting with Civil Servants for last 20-22 years, first, as Chief Minister and later, as the Prime Minister. It has been a mutually learning experience, he said. PM Modi underlined the significance of this year’s celebration as it is taking place in the year of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

He said “India @100 can’t be routine. This 25-year period should be seen as a unit and we should have a vision from now onwards itself. This celebration should be a watershed.” Every district should move with this spirit. There should not be any let up in the efforts and this is the time to rededicate ourselves to the pledges and directions that Sardar Patel gave on this day in 1947, the Prime Minister said.