Palamau administration on Monday was jogged into action by decisions taken at the new chief minister Hemant Soren’s first cabinet meeting on Sunday, right after he took oath.

Hemant had asked all deputy commissioners of districts to ensure pending dues/ pending payments were paid to para teachers, anganwadi and mini anganwadi sevikas and sahayikas, various groups of pensioners, as well as students eligible for stipends and scholarships.

On Monday, Palamau DC Shantanu Kumar Agrahari asked his officials to hold camps every Tuesday and Thursday to dispose of all cases related to pending payments.

Agrahari said the two-day camp every week would be held at the panchayat and block levels.

He said the first such “dues clearance camp” would be held across the district with 21 blocks on Tuesday.

All BDOs, COs, district social welfare officer, district welfare officer, district superintendent of education, district education officer, assistant director of social security and office heads of all the offices have to take party in the camp to get the work rolling.

Hemant had also directed the deputy commissioners to locate and identify vacancies in the departments.

Agrahari said an order had been passed to all officials of departments to act on a war footing to locate and identify existing vacancies and suggest ways and means to fill them up.

Sources said filling of vacancies got delayed because of the reservation roster which has to be adhered to transparently and honestly.

Cold relief

The administration in Palamau, where sub-6°C chill is the norn now, is also gearing up to distribute 66,650 blankets among the poor.

DC Agrahari said they started blanket distribution in October-end itself but were forced to pause when the model code of conduct came into place for the Assembly elections. “Blanket distribution, which was put on hold, has again started,” he said, claiming 70 per cent of the total consignment of 66,650 blankets had been distributed.

More and more individuals are also coming forward to help the poor with blankets. A senior BJP leader Durga Johri distributed 40 blankets. SDPO sadar Sandip Kumar Gupta roped in philanthropist Shaukat Khan from Garhwa, where the SDPO was posted before coming to Palamau, and Khan distributed 100 blankets among the poor in Daltonganj on Sunday night.

Dry wood is also being burnt in the evenings at public places such as rickshaw stands, railway stations, bus stands, Palamau Medical College Hospital, among other places for the comfort of the poor and homeless. The DC said he asked circle officers to arrange the bonfires and take wood from the forest department.

Deoghar schools closed

In Deoghar, deputy commissioner Nancy Sahay on Monday ordered all government and private schools, madrasas and anganwadi centres and higher educational centres be closed in view of the cold till January 4, 2020.