Source: Imphal Free Press
IMPHAL, Sep 15: With a view to fostering peace and progress in the strife-torn society of the state, a one-day seminar on “Manipur: The Way Forward” emphasizing on the themes of peace processes, issues of governance, fiscal reforms, financial inclusion, marginalization and mainstreaming organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms, Government of Manipur, was held today at Hotel Classic, North AOC, Imphal.
The inaugural session of the seminar was graced by the Governor of Manipur, Gurbachan Jagat as the chief guest and chief minister O. Ibobi as the president, while Ranjan Chatterjee, consultant, Planning Commission of India, and J. Lhungdim, planning advisor, NEC, were the guests of honor of the inaugural function.
Addressing the gathering at the inaugural session, the Governor Gurbachan Jagat maintained that Manipur has numerous problems and there is a need to find out solutions through interaction with various stakeholders. The timely preventive steps like good governance, fiscal reforms, financial inclusion and marginalization and mainstreaming can prevent the onslaught of violent organizations in the state, he said.
He further stated that the primary responsibility of the state is to secure the life and property of the citizens and also ensure that justice is available to all without fear or favor and all are entitled to get the benefits of development.
Lack of good governance is one of the major causes of many conflict situations in India, be it the Maoist problem, the problems in some of the states of North-East, or the periodical social unrest in some other states, the Governor noted.
He said that the situation in many of the states of the country is that the people have very little faith in the administrative, political and judicial systems of the state. Even the states like UP and Bihar which were ranked amongst the best administered states in the country have now fallen on bad days based on poor governance over the years, Gurbachan added.
There is also disillusionment amongst the people of the state as the movements once raised for the cause of the people have turned around on them and those in whose name they were speaking are now tortured and tormented through large scale extortions, kidnapping, selective violence etc. In the course of time, these movements have moved away from whatever idealism they had in the beginning and become mere vehicles for collecting more and more money from the people and from government resources, the Governor said.
He also observed that the people are caught between the security forces and the violent organizations and their lives have become even more miserable. He also maintained that good governance does not mean only performing the duties towards the citizens of the state but also denying space to violent organizations by alienating them from the people.
The Governor asserted that the first step towards any short term or long term resolution of the conflict lies in the process of good governance which should not begin tomorrow or today but should begin immediately from the very moment.
He also said that the government runs on the basis of the love and respect of its people and they cannot be forced to give love and respect to the government. It is only by compassionate and just actions that the love and respect of the people can be won and this requires a total effort by the entire administrative machinery at all levels at all times, Gurbachan stated.
He also expressed the need for greater transparency at all levels of development and a sense of urgency to complete the various projects in time so that the benefits reach the people early.
The Governor also appealed to those people who have chosen a different path to come and talk with the government instead of holding a gun to the heads of the citizens, and added that democracy is all about participation and so the people who have gone on the wrong path should also be allowed to participate in the democracy and if elected they should be given opportunity to govern and give the people what they want. But all solutions would come through talks and dialogues, he believed.