"ODISHA'S NEXT DECADE WILL BE ABOUT THE YOUTH"

Former IAS officer and now Biju Janata Dal leader V.K. Pandian, who heads Odisha's revolutionary 5T (transparency, technology, teamwork, time and transformation) model of governance, spoke to Group Editorial Director (Publishing) Raj Chengappa, on how the initiative is changing citizens' experience for the better. Excerpts from the interview

Q. How did the principle of 5T evolve? How is it implemented? For instance, how did 5T help in the execution of the Shree Jagannatha Temple parikrama project?

A. When CM Naveen Patnaik won his fifth term, he did not want to make just changes to Odisha but transform the state… Benchmarks were set for every sector. And he was ready to pay some political cost, if required, to achieve this. The 5T principle is the foundation of this goal. It was at play at Shree Jagannatha Temple parikrama project. It was a complete teamwork involving various departments, sevayats, people’s representatives, the Gajapati Maharaja and the Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration. But more importantly, as the CM says, it’s God’s wish. He wanted the temple to be renovated at this time and by our CM. So, it happened.