Surprise inspections are a must.

Unannounced surprise inspection of hospital and police station,particularly,in far flung areas by the prime minister a couple of days back was ,in fact,a message to the administrative heads of the divisions and districts that it is basically their duty to be mostly mobile instead of warming their chairs in their office.These visits are,however, productive only if an example is made of the erring staff of the hospitals and police stations by punishing the guilty and awarding the efficient among them.

It is a pity that due attention is not being paid to the monitoring of daily performance of the public sector organisations by the heads of the administrative heads.The commissioner ,the deputy commissioner and the assistant commissioner once used to periodically check the working of the subordinate revenue staff as well as the police stations and jails .In the same manner it is the duty of the provincial secretaries of health,education and other departments to carry out regular monitoring of their  lower staff by on-the-spot inspection of the institutions working under their administrative control as well of the developmental works  assigned to them.It has been observed that this vital function is not being performed regularly by them.

Gone are the days when regular open kutcheries used to be organised at district headquarter once a month in which the elders of the district from all shades of public opinion were invited to have their views on the problems requiring immediate solution.These open kutcheries used to be addressed by the commissioner of the division.

It is the communication gap between the common man and the administration which gives  rise to public grievances .The fear of  punishment can only be instilled in the heart of the lower echelon of the administration if they know that the public would  not spare them,should they fail to deliver,and would lodge a complaint against them them in open kutcheries to their highers-up .