Mobiles banned in Yogi Adityanath's meetings

Lucknow: The use of mobile phones has been banned in all meetings convened by chief minister Yogi Adityanath here, effective from Wednesday. Earlier the ban was imposed only on the review meetings conducted by the chief minister.

Speaking on this occasion, UP minister of state for revenue Anupama Jaiswal said the chief minister has boosted the morale of lekhpals by distributing laptops to them under e-governance.

“I have full faith that with the help of smartphones and laptops, the lekhpals will help the public. The people too will say then that we have a transparent regime now,” she added.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath Wednesday exhorted the state revenue officials to replicate the smartness of smartphones and laptops in their workings.

“Smartness should not be seen only in smartphones and laptops but also in the workings of lekhpals (revenue officials,” said Mr Adityanath while distributing laptops to them as part of the e-district scheme.

In a programme held under the government’s e-district scheme, Mr Adityanath symbolically distributed laptops to 21 lekhpals. The expenses on these laptops and their internet connectivity will be borne by the state government.

“These laptops will help lekhpals speed up their work and prepare reports and certificates like income certificate, caste certificate and residence certificate more efficiently,” he said.

Dwelling upon the importance of revenue officials’ work, the chief minister said, “Small incidents related to revenue often become a cause of dispute, sometimes even triggering  nuisance and riots.”

“Along with solving common problems, the technology can be used to curb organized crime as well,” he said, adding that, accordingly, it is important to resolve such problems at the district level.

“Distributing laptops after we distributed smartphone is another step to resolve such problems more efficiently and quickly,” he said.

The chief minister also told the gathering that the process of filling vacancies in the revenue department was going on and would be completed soon.

The chief minister, who also holds the revenue portfolio said, “In order to change the name in the revenue council records, people used to run around for many weeks and months. Successful implementation of this programme will provide convenience to the public and there will be transparency also in the working of lekhpals.”