Odisha Secretariat to Be Called as Lok Seva Bhawan

Bhubaneswar: In yet another move of transformation, Odisha ‘Sachivalaya’ or Secretariat will now be called as ‘Lok Seva Bhawan, informed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the Assembly today.

The Chief Minister said, “If the four and half crore people of Odisha have blessed our Government for the fifth consecutive time, it is because of the faith they have reposed in our governance model”.

“In a democracy people are masters and we all exist to serve them”, the CM told the House.

He said, “I am highly indebted to the people of our State and will continue to work hard to fulfil the aspirations of our people”.

“If our State has grown at a rate higher that the national growth rate, if the State has attracted crores of rupees investment, it is because of the peaceful law and order situation in the State”, the CM stressed.

Naveen further said that his government is committed to maintain transparency in administration.

The Office of the Lokayukta has started functioning since  March 20, 2019, he said.

The State Government has taken a number of steps for modernizing and capacity building of State Vigilance. Last year, the State Vigilance Academy was set up and the Academy has conducted a number of training courses. A new Vigilance Division at Rourkela has been approved, the CM stated.

During the year 2019 the State Vigilance has registered 137 criminal cases including 26 cases for possession of disproportionate assets, 67 trap cases relating to demand and acceptance of bribe by public servants and 44 cases for misappropriation of public funds, he said.

The Chief Minister further said that he has noted the valuable suggestions of Members of the Assembly and will follow up the actions required thereon. His government will take steps to pass the Police Act at the earliest, he added.