Pen-pushers at the receiving end

Gujarat principal secy says media maligning the state's image

Portraying Gujarat as a global investment destination, Anil Mukim, principal secretary, Government of Gujarat, fired a salvo at a section of the media and praised the government for all its efforts during the time of crisis. He was addressing the aspiring managers at Tata Confluence 2004 on Friday.

Mukim blamed media for maligning the image of Gujarat at the international level during the devastating earthquake and during the communal riots. It seemed that the principal chief secretary was mouthing chief minister, Narendra Modi.

"Deliberate attempts were made by media to malign the image of Gujarat at the international level. Media should have played a more sensible role than sensitising the whole issue," said Mukim.

Lambasting media, Mukim said, "Media continuously reported death toll of over 10,000 lives during the devastating earthquake and failed to report the efficient rehablitation measures taken up by the state and Central government. The Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) has been constituted by the state government by the General Administration Department's (GAD's) resolution dated February 8, 2001, just a week after the earthquake. The Authority has been created as a permanent arrangement to handle the natural calamities."

During his presentation on 'Perception versus Reality', Mukim tried to clear the maligned image of the state government. "The GSDMA is the highest body created by any state government to tackle disasters effectively and efficiently. The chairman of the body is the chief minister of Gujarat himself. Important policy-level decisions were undertaken in the governing body meetings of the authority to accelerate the pace of rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the earthquake affected areas of the state," said Modi.

Mukim praised the state government corporations for their excellent performance and urged the aspiring managers to take up the government jobs.