Prime Minster, Sir
Posted : April 26, 2005 at 9:11 pm [IST]
Resprected Prime Minister
‘The Time 100: The 2005′ has included you very deservedly in its list of the 100 most influential people of the world. Time has used famous economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who might be your friend too to write your profile. And he has done a wonderful job too.
“Can an astute economist, a famous professor and a superb civil servant also be an outstanding Prime Minister? Can someone without populist political base be secure as the head of a democratic government? Can a country in which more than 80% of the people are Hindus be comfortable with a blue-turbaned Sikh prime Minister in addition to a Muslim Predent and a Christian leader of the ruling party? If the answer to all these questions is yes (as seems plausible enough), that says something not only about the nature of India but also about Manmohan Singh’s deep humanity and breadth of his vision, which inspire widespread confidence.”
I along with huge lot of the countrymen think your selection to the chair as good luck for India and Indians. It is one more opportunity to a person who can bring that change in the growth rate and prosperity of the country the people of other countries can even envy.
Sir, I remember the previous government for two reasons only- the rampant problem of telephone and cooking gas disappeared, I don’t know how far the government is to be credited. But many and I too give this credit to them.
Sir, please do some thing fast enough for connecting all the villages with good roads and for providing full time electricity.
No one, not even one in opposition party or even their fundamentalist incarnations such as RSS and VHP, doubt about your personal capability and integrity. However, how does it help the nation of 1 billion or more? How long we can go on praising you for what you did in 1991? It is almost a year now that you are in chair. However, we don’t see any change in the atmosphere that can give us hope.
Sir, please prove your leadership and force the ministers and administrative officers to achieve the target of 100% rural connectivity through road and electricity. After all, what is so great that we can’t do? Why can’t all the remaining 1,25,000 villages be electrified during his tenure- next 4 years? Why can’t the remaining 1,75,000 villages be connected by roads?
I am sure your government does believe in the necessity of these priorities and does not lack the will power. Sir, you know it better.
As a technocrat, I think there is a ready market for power. There are entrepreneurs that will happily put the money too. It is quite feasible to add every year 10,000 MW of generating capacity between private and public enterprises such as NTPC, NHPC, BHEL, Tata Power, Reliance, Energy, Nagarjuna Power, Essar, and many others. Main obstruction is from the State Electricity Boards and their officers and unionized labor force. How can they be party to this project when they are making easy money plus something more without doing any work and are bent on maintaining the status quo for their own selfish motives? Sir, it is possible to cut the cost of the electricity tariffs too. Long ago, one expert had said, ” If the generation of electricity was not owned or regulated by the government, the competition among private owners would reduce prices to consumers and improve efficiency and services.” It will require hard and skillful handling. It will require better, younger, and efficient minister in charge of power. Why can’t you depute some of the younger MBAs in the party and give them the challenge to achieve the target? Sir, please take some bold steps and bring out the changes. Sir, will your government keep on posting how many villages have electrified every month and its cumulative figures against the target?
On road project, it is sheer the deployment of more manpower and other resources. I have been moving around the country. I hardly see the work going on with speed that can meet the target. Please, Sir, call a meeting of the heads of the road-building contractors with your engineers and ask them to go fast and maintain the quality to world standard. All the contracts can be broken down to a size that makes it easy to complete within 3-4 years time-the effective lifetime of a government in chair.
May be Sir, you need some world-class project managers to get this done. Sir, plenty of them are available in our country. Sir, please change the system that does not permit their deployment.
With good roads connecting the villages, even doctors of the nearby town may like to open a shop there and drive once a week. Even good teachers will like to go and stay in villages. Every village home and particularly the women will start doing something like knitting and other handicrafts to add to their earning. Internet and entertainment will bring happiness and engagement too. And in emergency, the patients can go or can be shifted fast to get a doctor’s service. And the electricity will make available the benefits of the computers, Internet, information, and knowledge to even those in villages at an investment of few thousands of rupees in stead of spending 2-3 lakhs as being done by ITC’s e-Choupal initiatives.
Sir, if your government can get the two projects completed in next 3 years, it will get all the laurels. And the villages will automatically become prosperous. It will increase self- employment. It will be easy source for many manufactured jobs as logistics will be cheaper. The quality of life in rural area will improve. We shall be going nearer to PURA.
Finally, Sir, if Shershah in his time could build GT Road in five years of his reign, why can’t your government in the twenty first century do it?
Sir, I know there may be many who would have written similar letters. But I thought why not I also do it?
- Indra
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