I am indeed delighted to inaugurate the Governors' Conference. My greetings to all of you, particularly to the Governors and Lieutenant Governors who are attending the Conference for the first time. During my meeting with the Governors, in their own states and also at Rashtrapati Bhavan, many of them brought to my notice, the necessity to have the Governors' Conference periodically. I am happy to be here with you in this Governors' Conference today. I would like to present some aspects of national development and some thoughts on my visits to various states, and about the task team formation on river networking and the need for progressing towards IT enabled administration and management in Governance.

National Development

Our nation has entered into the 10th Five Year Plan with a focus on all-round development and to achieve a goal of increasing the GDP growth rate to 8 percent. Also our Prime Minister, in his Independence Day address, has emphasized the national vision of achieving the status of a 'Developed India'. The 10th plan period is very vital as it has to lay the foundation for this journey of transformation by initiating mission projects that will bring economic strength to the nation. Each Governor has a tremendous responsibility in providing partnership for the State administration to succeed. I was asking myself what type of partnership it has to be. I would like to share with you a few experiences.

Nation develops when the states progress

In the last five months I have visited 15 states. In each state I could visit remote districts and villages and was able to interact with common people and the younger generation. From this personal experience, I was convinced of the imperative need for the Governors of the States concerned to reach the grassroots to understand the problems and focus them to the concerned state government and sometimes central government for fast action to remove the sufferings of the common people.

Also my visits reinforced my firm belief in the existence of abundant natural resources, apart from adequate human resource potential in most of the states. A well-thought-out programme for gainful exploitation of these resources is absolutely essential.

I visited some of the drought affected areas particularly in Rajasthan. As next April-May-June is going to be a very crucial period of summer, it is essential to launch a state-centre joint programme to minimize the suffering of the people by using short time high yield desert seeds, creation of temporary water sources, fodder development and management programmes.

Wherever I have been, both the Chief Minister and the Governor were with me. I am convinced, definitely people want to live in a prosperous India. In the rural areas when I visited primary schools, they wanted high schools, when I visited High Schools they wanted Colleges, when I visited Colleges they wanted Professional Colleges. The right type of higher education has become the necessity from both students and parents point of view. However, scarcity of good teachers is visible everywhere. Good teaching and interactive teaching are possible through tele-education. Facilities like the Mobile Clinic which was inaugurated recently in Uttaranchal, are used for diagnosis and treatment of about 150 to 200 rural patients every day. This is one example of extending the available limited facilities to more and more rural people. Both centre and state governments should encourage such mobile clinics in rural areas on priority. Particularly in North- Eastern States, physical connectivity by providing roads, electronic connectivity by providing reliable communication network and knowledge connectivity by establishing more professional institutions and vocational training centers will have to be done in an integrated way so that economic connectivity will emerge. Such a model of establishing circular connectivity among rural village complexes will accelerate the rural development process by empowerment. Most of the states I visited, are maintaining communal harmony. There are a few states suffering from insurgency. We have to collectively fight and eliminate communal differences and insurgency from our country. It was visible everywhere that people were against violence and they wanted to live in a peaceful, prosperous and secured India.

For genuine development of any State, the Centre and the State have to work together. Governors have a key role to ensure this. It is essential that the Governors and the Governments in the States work harmoniously to achieve the ultimate aim of integrated development.

Any nation in development mode may have difference of opinions - be it political, or managerial or centre-state relationship. The Governors have to give a leadership to move the development process with fast interface between the Centre and the state. The Governors have a positive role to play to bring about unity of minds.

Networking of Rivers

Networking of Rivers is a vital project to manage the flood - drought conditions that repeat themselves in some part of our country. To offset this regional hydro-imbalance, the need of the hour is to have a water mission which will enable widespread availability of water without compromising environmental safety or unleashing mindless appropriation of earth's bounty. A prime ingredient of this task would be imparting the required thrust to the networking of our river systems to transfer water from our surplus basins to areas of deficit. This project is under active consideration and a task team has been formed by the Government. During the study of such mega projects, it is quite natural that there will be tremendous extreme and different views on various issues. There will be a presentation today on the proposal for networking of rivers. Every state Governor has to organize building support by organizing seminars and meeting of specialists in co-ordination with the State Government. The Governors can play a salutary role in creating a climate of consensus amongst the States to facilitate the linking of the river-systems for the overall good of the nation.

Towards IT Enabled Administration

What type of scenario will be there in India in the coming decades? As we are crossing the information society and progressively to a knowledge society, irrespective of rural or urban area, distance will be shortened using information technology. In such a situation an electronic connectivity should emerge between the State Governments, Raj Bhavans, Central Ministries, PMO and Rashtrapati Bhavan for fully committed transparent administration. May I request the Governors to progress such a change in their offices and state government administration? A networked database with real time updated data exchange will ensure speedy service to the people.

Conclusion

Every state should aspire to become an economically developed state with peace and prosperity. If all the states develop then only the nation can develop. Since the nation has got a vision to become developed, the role of the Governor would be to promote this national vision at every opportunity and guide the state government in such a transformation. Every state in our country will go through the best of times and also difficult times. Governors being statesmen, having vast experience are best suited to provide sage advice beyond any political considerations to the people and the government. A Governor is indeed a noble healer.

Thank you.

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