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Infrastructure & Governance
As no state can afford to be inefficient in a globalising environment, good governance is a necessary condition for attracting capital, maintaining stable growth and, above all, improving the quality of life. Political leaders now talk glibly about the need for the state to "steer, not row" and the need to shed the flab, encourage private capital initiatives and to build capabilities rather than redistribute wealth. To streamline public administration, reformers advocate the replication of the values, strategies and techniques of corporate management such as profitability criteria, cost-benefit analysis and economic rationality. Clearly, the emphasis is not only on achieving an egalitarian society but also on developing individual capabilities. Since greater accountability is considered the keystone of the arch of governance, questions are bound to be raised as to how this would be ensured. In the parliamentary system of government based on the Westminster model that we have adopted, political accountability of the executive is to the people through Parliament or the state assemblies. Similarly, the administrative and legal accountability of the executive branch is through well-laid-out administrative procedures and the courts. Following the new Anglo-American model, some state governments in India have adopted a stakeholder approach according to which the corporations which provide public services would be held responsible to their end users or consumers, provided, of course, they pay for the services. More important, citizens should get the rights appropriate to consumers. This would include the right to information, the right to demand good infrastructural facilities such as motorable roads, uninterrupted power supply and efficient public transport system and the right to be consulted on important decisions. Infrastructure & Governance is a compilation of articles, covering various aspects of governance. Its seven sections have 31 articles contributed by economists, administrators, CEOs of public and private sectors and academics. Incidentally, these papers were presented at a recent National Consultation called India @Work Summit organised by Skoch Consultancy Services, New Delhi. In his article, "Infrastructure for development", Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia says that urban infrastructure, very closely related to good governance, is one of our biggest challenges. The present system of urban and city governance is "completely unsuited" to the management of modern cities and things will improve only if accountability is fixed on the managers. He fears that though in the next 10 years we will add 150 million more to the present 280 million people in our cities, no suitable institutional structures have been put in place for coping with this demographic expansion. This exercise should start now and there is no point in seeking "desperate corrective measures" 10 years later, he says. While commenting on the importance of infrastructure for inclusive growth, Mr Ahluwalia lauds the paid information-dissemination service in Maharashtra. Farmers with cell phones subscribe to the service, which offers continuous updates on pricing in different mandis, weather patterns, rains, etc. Though much of this information is available on government website, the farmers say that it is not regularly updated and is useful only for long-term research. The unique info service keeps farmers abreast with, say, the latest rise or fall in the price of tomatoes in some mandi. Chief Information Commissioner of India Wajahat Habibullah, in his article on the "Right to Information", makes a strong plea for ensuring effective public participation in the RTI process. For this, the Gram Sabhas and the District Planning Committees will have to become the key drivers of information. At present, though panchayats are supposed to act as the conduits of information under the RTI Act, what we see today is the "twisted norm". The village sarpanch exercises his privileges dictatorially and he does not involve the people he is supposed to represent. Habibullah says, interventions by the state panchayati raj ministries to address this problem have proved unsuccessful so far. The states would need to focus attention on involving the Gram Sabhas and the DPCs to maximise public participation. Shantanu Consul, IAS, Administrator, Universal Services Obligation Fund in the Union Ministry of Telecommunications, has done a nice article on "Rural Telecom: Connecting Bharat". His prime focus is on the best way to use broadband connectivity in the rural and remote areas. Computers, power supply and training for teachers, doctors and officials are a must for effective use of broadband connectivity. Without effective coordination and timely action, connectivity would remain underutilise4d, he avers. The article on "Radio broadcasting" provides a fresh look on the viability of community radio in socio-economic development. Zohra Chatterji, IAS, Joint Secretary (Broadcasting), I&B Ministry, GoI, writes that radio, as a potential medium in rural areas, can be effectively used for the empowerment of people, especially the underprivileged. In his article, "Infrastructure: The Cornerstone of Economy", Punjab National Bank Chairman and Managing Director K.C. Chakrabarty focusses on the "greater common good". There is a need to improve accountability, transparency, fairness in transactions and good governance with respect to various initiatives taken by organisations. In a joint article, the editors, Kochhar and Dhanjal, examine the increasing role of e-governance in 40,000 gram panchayats across the country. Significantly, the most successful of the initiatives are those where the panchayats have computerised records out of their own resources. They say, institutionalisation of infrastructure as in Gujarat e-Gram is a key factor in enabling better governance and higher levels of participation. Since the articles are topical and written by specialists with impeccable credentials and proven track record, the book will serve as a useful reference for the students of economics and public administration, administrators, planners and policy makers.
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If
civil society was the buzz of the 1980s and ’90s, the focus is now on
good governance. Reforms, undoubtedly, could help lift developed
countries, like India, out of a plethora of problems. These include,
among others, bureaucratic delays, inefficiency and insensitivity,
corruption, poor quality of public services and a judicial system with
archaic procedures and a huge backlog of cases.