Disgusting Governance and ‘Aam Adami’
Posted : October 26, 2009 at 7:01 pm [IST]
Should India be considered lucky to have a prime minister who can understand governance and country’s economy too? He is a unanimously recognized saviour of India’s economy in early 90s from impending disaster. But how should he be rated for the on the ground situation in last few years?
For quite some time now, the prices of essential items are increasing. I got a shock of my life when I paid Rs 102 for one 1-kg packet of Arahar dal. The vegetables and fruits are equally getting costlier and costlier. I am a retired executive from a private sector. I am not as lucky as the retirees from the government jobs who get their increment in pension too. If I can feel the pinch of the rising prices, what will be the condition of the aam aadami? Will he not have to live on rice from ration shop and salt?
How should I rate Manmohan’s government? However, the result of recent election proves that the people are with this government. Perhaps, I must keep quiet, as there is no taker of my grievance or protest.
But as a person should not Manmohan Singh be concerned with almost total inaction in every area of activity? Some ministers have been making noises through announcements after announcements but hardly one sees anything moving on the ground. Sibal, Kamalnath, Moily, and even our Nandan Nilekani have been promising speed of their work and dates about their projects. But in media except for the news of the addition of 10 million mobile phones every month, there is hardly any achievement story.
I doubt if the government is having some agreed priority for each ministry. At least, the people at large are hardly aware of that. As it is universally accepted that if one work for everything, nothing gets achieved. Prioritizing is essential for getting the best result out of limited resources. What are the priorities of agriculture ministry or for that matter finance ministry? Is correcting the deficiency in PDS the top priority? How long will it take to improve it by at least 10% which will be huge in money value? Is the black money in Swiss accounts among the priorities of finance ministry? How long will take to get some positive action on that?
Let me take a concrete example. The hurdle in land acquisition is the biggest problem of executing many projects. Is it in the priority list of the government? What is the time frame to come to an agreed roadmap for solving the problem? I came across a case of shocking inaction by the government about foreign aid for which the country had been basically begging for a long time. According to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) as of March 31, 2009, India is sitting on an unutilized foreign assistance of a whopping Rs 78,037 crore. As the country’s external assistance has increased, its usage has declined. Interestingly, one hand the government keeps on negotiating for more assistance, and on the other it keeps on paying more and more commitment charges of several hundred crores of rupees every year. What is the accountability of the ministers, bureaucrats, and even the prime minister? Can the country under the excuse of a democratic one keep on living with the excuses?
According to Mahesh Vyas, Managing Director and CEO of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, ‘the projects on hand can more than double the current jobs in the factory sector and raise GDP by half — if only we can find the land for them’.
Why can’t the issue of the land acquisition be the top priority?
As the execution efficiency of the government policies is poor, the number of urgent issues will keep on increasing. There is hardly some solution in sight for this disgusting situation. And still we call ourselves the luckiest to have a Prime Minister who had been a great respected economist. Should it be left to the history to decide that?
- Indra
Category: Government Policy/Administration |
Leave a Comment