By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, May 21, 2017 : Teamwork, transparency and technology should get priority in the functioning of the ministries, chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said while addressing the council of ministers here on completion of three years of his fourth term in Odisha.

“I will suggest 3Ts – teamwork, transparency and technology. I want every department to fine tune their functioning with these 3Ts in mind,” Patnaik said while thanking his team members for the achievements.

“I am seriously concerned about the last mile delivery and in some cases harassment being faced by the people. This has to improve,” he remarked underscoring the need to fine tune the functioning of the departments.

Patnaik asked the ministers to leverage 3Ts governance formula to meet aspirations of the people who elected BJD to power four times in a row.

On the government’s success, Patnaik asked the health and family welfare secretary present at the meeting about the number of babies being saved due to reduction of the IMR.

“Our IMR has reduced from 96 in the year 2000 to 40 in 2015-16 (according to NFHS data). This effectively translates into saving around 51,000 babies annually compared to 2000,” the secretary told the meeting.

Stating that the reduction in IMR is the finest example of success of the combined efforts at the grassroots, Patnaik said IMR is universally established as the key indicator of overall development.

“IMR reflects economic and physical access to food, health and livilihood… it also reflects women empowerment, education, connectivity, agricultural prosperity. It establishes growth with equity. In short, it validates our governance model,” he said.

The chief minister also reminded the ministers that it is the job of the BJD government to empower people.

“It is this faith that the people of Odisha have on my government which make them bless us continuously. Let us work together with commitment and dedication to honour this faith of the people on us,” Patnaik told ministers.

Listing out achievements made in the last three years, Patnaik said the government has been able to complete more than one million houses for the poor, more than four lakh hectares of additional irrigation and six lakh hectares to be completed in the next two years, crop loan at 1 per cent interest to farmers, more than 25 lakh mothers benefited from Mamata Yojana and others, while the state has come a long way by increasing food grain production, reducing dropout rates and many more.