Work honestly and take decisions with courage, Bhatti advises AIS officers

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has advised the All India Services officers to serve with honesty, take decisions with courage and adopt a humanitarian approach while moving forward in leadership roles.

Civil servants will do justice to their duties when people remember them as public servants, not just officers. The Deputy Chief Minister was speaking at a ceremony organised at the Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource Development Institute (MCRHRD) marking the successful completion of a 10-week training programme of AIS officers on Thursday.

A total of 203 officers completed the course and the Deputy Chief Minister said they arrived here as engineers, doctors, economists, lawyers and technical experts and were leaving with the highest level of recognition and respect. Numerous opportunities lay ahead of them, befitting their talent and qualifications. He said the completion of this rigorous training programme marked not just an end, but the beginning of a new journey filled with responsibility, wisdom, discretion and public trust. Officers would face responsibilities, transfers, complex problems and files related to people’s lives besides situations which demand timely responses. A single negligent decision in public service could affect lives for years, he said advising the officers to discharge their duties with utmost commitment.

Stating that governance involved pressure, difficult situations, humane decision-making and constant efforts for public welfare, he said there would be praise as well as criticism, but officers should move forward with the conviction that everything they did was for the public. People at present were more informed, more questioning and often less patient. Officers should therefore continuously learn, unlearn when necessary, and transform themselves in tune with changing times.

Officers should maintain constant engagement with ordinary people, meet them with respect and listen patiently. Time spent with citizens was not time away from work, is was the very purpose of the work. Sitting in air-conditioned offices and clearing files was necessary, he said, but it could never replace human connection.