 "Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at his first Townhall meeting with citizens at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. Photo: PIB India Twitter Handle")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said 8 per cent plus growth over the next 30 years will bring the best of the world to India, even as he lamented being questioned for every wrong, right from the Panchayat level.
He said everyone responsible should be answerable and held accountable.
In a democracy, he said, people give the elected government a five year contract and if they do not like the performance the mandate is given to some other political party in the next election.
"Our country has always believed that good governance is bad politics. After winning one election, government keeps thinking how to win the next election. They are focused on how to increase political base and ways to get more votes and hence going forward it collapses," he said.
Addressing his first townhall, Modi stressed upon the need for providing grievance redressal system that not just listens to complaints of citizens, but also redresses them in a time-bound manner.
"With rapid and continued economic growth of over 8 per cent over the next 30 years, we can have whatever best we see in the world," Modi said at the event to mark two years of the government's citizen partnership app MyGov.
Modi said India has become the fastest growing large economy in the world with a growth rate of over 7.5 per cent which is credible despite global slowdown and two consecutive years of drought.
The Prime Minister also said that without good governance the benefits of government schemes will not benefit common man.
"To bring about a change in the country, last mile delivery of government benefits are as important as rules and regulations," he said, adding, government will lose its goodwill if the benefits of a scheme does not reach the intended beneficiary.
"Today if something happens at the Panchayat level, I am asked questions; if something happens at nagar Panchayat level, I am asked questions; if something happens at zilla parishad, I am asked questions; if something happens at nagar palika, I am asked questions; if something happens at Mahanagar Palika, I am asked questions; if something happens in states, then also reply is sought from the Prime Minister," he stated.
"Politically it is fine, for TRP also it might be fine, but it creates problem for the Prime Minister," Modi said.
Modi stressed upon participatory democracy as being necessary for good governance, saying it can be achieved only when government hears the voice of people and acts on their grievances.
"Good governance is a necessity and there should be system to listen to grievances of common man and they should be responded and resolved to within a timeframe. We should not shut them up. We are working towards that. Lot of our problems can be solved by good governance," he said.
He added that there is indifference to issues like good governance, establishment of institutions, scope for checks and balances, scrutiny in every step, responsibility with accountability.
Modi said because of lack of good governance, lakhs and crores of rupees are going waste and hence there is a need for balanced relation between development and good governance.
On the agriculture sector, he said it has potential to boost the economy and farmers need to move away from traditional form of agriculture to modern form.
The government, he added, is trying to provide all farmers soil health care that will give analysis of the land they have to cultivate and help increase crop productivity.
Simultaneously, awareness of use of right kind of seeds as well as not resorting to indiscriminate use of fertiliser is needed, he said.
Modi asked farmers to adopt three pronged approach to agriculture. While farming for crop, timber can be grown on boundary wall of the farm land and simultaneously do animal husbandry, honeybee culture and fisheries as insurance against drought.
The three pillars will help him face any crisis, he said.
Stating that the government was working to provide irrigation to all farms, he said value addition in agriculture and investment in infrastructure like warehousing and cold storages as well as e-marketing will benefit farmers.
Asking manufacturers to target global markets, Modi said natural and human resources should be optimally utilised, while attempts should be made to cut India's oil import dependence by shifting to renewable energy sources like solar power.
To buttress his point, he cited the example of Japan importing cars manufactured by Maruti in India.
He also said that domestic manufacturing of defence equipment, following relaxation of foreign direct investment norms will help generate jobs and cut down on imports.
