MYSORE: The programme under which officials have to make compulsory visits to villages in a bid to take governance to the doorstep of the people will be extended to urban areas in the district.

This in the wake of the good response to the concept, which was ushered in recently in Mysore district with the aim of covering all villages in 100 days. The Institute of Development Studies, University of Mysore, has been requested to evaluate the impact of the ongoing drive and document the positive changes that have been brought about.

Minister for Cooperation G.T. Deve Gowda, who is also in charge of the district, told presspersons during a review meeting on Thursday that the programme might soon be extended to other districts. So far, he said, over 30 per cent of the grievances received by the officials had been addressed on the spot.

Mr. Gowda said that the programme was a result of the Chief Minister's village stays, which he had undertaken in an effort to get a feel of the problems faced by the people. A similar drive was introduced in Mysore. It was soon decided that officials themselves should reach out to the people and stay in villages, instead of the people making a beeline to the offices and seeking redressal of their problems.

The programme was officially launched in Hunsur taluk on April 18 and will continue for 100 days. Its aim is to cover all the 235 gram panchayats in the district, which include 2,352 villages, and address the problems of people on the spot. Mr. Gowda said the concept had fired the imagination of the people in the villages, as many long-pending problems had been addressed while a few of the more complex issues would be treated with a legal approach. The full workforce from all 53 departments of the district administration is involved in the drive, and the various teams have so far pitched camp in 59 villages and received 36,376 applications, of which 11,505 have been addressed on the spot.

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