Focus on connection with citizens: PM Modi to babus

NEW DELHI: In a span of just a month, PM Narendra Modi has twice taken top central government bureaucrats and state chief secretaries by surprise by flagging public grievances that had reached him directly, reports Dipak Dash.

On April 30, secretaries and chief secretaries attending a meeting under Pragati - the performance audit PM holds periodically - were surprised when Modi raised shortcomings in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission , a scheme to reach piped water to all households.

On Wednesday, he again left them amazed when, during a review of the functioning of real estate regulators , he shared feedback that files in RERA offices don't move unless "vyavastha", a popular Hindu euphemism for pleasing the authorities, has been made.

Senior officials said the two meetings, apart from providing a peek into the PM's continuing connect with the grassroots, were also symbolic of the government's decision to focus on problems which are holding up last-mile delivery of well-intentioned schemes. This also helps explain, sources said, why the 11th anniversary of the Modi govt passed without large-scale events or publicity campaigns.