Hindustan Times (Jalandhar)

Team of 27 senior bureaucrat­s to visit states to assess situation

- HT Correspond­ent letters@hindustant­imes.com

NEW DELHI: With complaints galore of hardships being faced by the public coming in following the government’s decision to demonetise `500 and `1000 denominati­on currency, the Centre on Friday formed a team of senior bureaucrat­s to visit all states to look at the situation on the ground.

The team, comprising of 27 bureaucrat­s of additional secretary level, will visit every state to gauge the status of implementa­tion of the decision.

The department of economic affairs will decide the dates and duration of the field visit by the bureaucrat­s. “Their mandate is to assess the problems being faced by the public/banks in implementi­ng the government’s decision and suggest measures to address the problem,” said a senior government official who did not want to be identified.

Though the move to target black money was well intentione­d, the Centre was ill prepared to handle the chaos outside banks and ATMs soon after.

There was political backlash as well. A united Opposition has disrupted the Winter Session of Parliament from day one. Even though the BJP has been claiming the support of the masses, there is growing concern that in smaller cities people have started to get restive.

“There are genuine problems being faced by people in villages where banks are at a considerab­le distance. But the mood is in favour of the PM’s strike against black money,” said a BJP functionar­y.

The government’s publicity wing, Press Informatio­n Bureau, is already going all out to counter the negative publicity surroundin­g the government’s move through publicity outreach programmes across several media.

Their mandate is to assess the problems being faced by the public/banks in implementi­ng the government’s decision and suggest measures to address the problem. SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL, speaking about the delegation

 ?? PARVEEN KUMAR/HT PHOTO ?? People continued to queue up outside banks and ATMs throughout the country on Saturday.
PARVEEN KUMAR/HT PHOTO People continued to queue up outside banks and ATMs throughout the country on Saturday.

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