Chhattisgarh IAS officer gets PM excellence award

An IAS officer from Chhattisgarh has been selected for Prime Minister's award of excellence in public administration for his outstanding contribution in development of Naxal-affected area.
O P Choudhary, a 2005-batch IAS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre, will be honoured tomorrow at Vigyan Bhawan here for his initiatives to provide education to children in Naxal-affected Dantewada district in the state.
Choudhary, during his tenure as Dantewada Collector, had taken various innovative measures to transform the minds of future generations through education in the area.
500-seater residential campuses called 'potacabins' were set up in 2009 by the district administration for the children of distinct areas. In these residential-educational campuses, students from class I-VIII were provided with food and lodging free of cost.

Over 27 'potacabins' are operational in the district and 21 more will come up soon, said a press release issued by the Chhattisgarh government today.
Over 1,000 students were re-enrolled in these campuses in 2011-12. The district administration also tried to make education attractive in the district by organising children talent festival and summer camps.
Orphaned tribal children, whose parents were killed in Naxal violence, were provided residential facilities 'Aastha Gurukul' by the administration during Choudhary's tenure, it said.
Choudhary will be given the award for the year 2011-12. He is currently the director in Chhattisgarh Government's Public Relations department.