|
|
People’s
power Some
food, at least |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Leaks
put US in the dock
Probing
the Games mess
Don’t
mis(s)behave
As elections to the zila parishads, panchayat
samitis and gram panchayats in Haryana are over, the real test for the
elected representatives has begun on how best to implement the agenda
for reform. Several recommendations, including the Document on
Activity Mapping, for effective devolution of functions, functionaries
and funds have not yet been implemented. A status report on
democractic decentralisation in Haryana Ranbir Singh & Krishan Sarup Gorakhpuria THE process of panchayat elections in Haryana that began in May 2010 has been completed by September, 2010, with the election of the chairpersons of almost all the panchayat samitis and presidents of the zila parishads. The sarpanches and panches of gram panchayats and the members of the samitis and parishads were directly elected in May-June, 2010. Democracy
and development in J & K
|
|
Some food, at least
Food
security for all Indians will still remain a cherished dream as the National Advisory Council’s recommendations fall short of the original goal. Champions of the universal-food-security agenda like Jean Dreze, a member of the NAC and reputed economist, have reason to feel let down. However, given the financial constraints the government is faced with (it is already committed to Rs 1 lakh crore for various welfare schemes), it is a workable way out. Providing subsidised food to 75 per cent of the population is still a formidable challenge. The watered-down scheme, which is expected to become operational from April, 2011, will impose an additional burden of Rs 15,000 crore on the exchequer and require some 58 million tonnes of food grains annually. The Centre and states should coordinate their efforts to provide the poor access to affordable food and review the various schemes serving the same objective. The poor do not just need food grains. They should ideally be provided with nutritious food, which includes other food items like pulses, edible oil and vegetables. Besides, access to clean drinking water and healthcare is also necessary. All this requires huge resources and political will. The government’s intention in reaching out to the starving millions is commendable, given the widespread prevalence of hunger and malnutrition in the country. However, a major worry is about the existing delivery system. Given the known leakages in the public distribution system, putting more food and money into the PDS means multiplying corruption and waste. Besides, if the government procures large quantities of food grains to help the poor, it may create shortages in the open market, leading to a hike in prices and particularly hurting those among the poor who have no access to the PDS. By the time the food security legislation is rolled out, the government should have in place a foolproof delivery system and create more space for scientific storage. If the PDS appears beyond redemption, alternatives like the issuing of food stamps may be tried.
|
|
|
Leaks put US in the dock
After
the release in July of thousands of classified Pentagon documents on the war in Afghanistan, the controversial WikiLeaks website has made public nearly four lakh such files on the Iraqi conflict which talk of the killing of thousands of persons under questionable circumstances. The released Pentagon papers contain chilling accounts of torture and killing of 66,000 civilians in Iraq. The whistleblower’s expose of the dirty deeds of the US and its allies is bound to evoke strong reactions from the world community. The UN has asked the Obama administration to enquire into the charges of serious human rights violations, summary executions and war crimes brought to the surface by WikiLeaks. The new British government has described the allegations as “extraordinarily serious” and “shocking”. UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has admitted that the Tony Blair government’s decision to join the US in the March 2003 invasion of Iraq was “illegal”. It is not only the forces of the US and its allies which resorted to questionable methods to subjugate the hapless people of Iraq. The Iraqi government, established with US support, too, indulged in crimes which were as grievous as war crimes. What happened at the infamous Abu Ghraib concentration camp run by the US in Iraq was virtually nothing when compared to the large-scale torture and killings of civilians by Iraqi forces and insurgents trained and armed by Iran. It is surprising what made the American and other foreign troops look the other way when Iraqi troops openly supported the heavily armed insurgents fighting against the coalition forces. These insurgents also went unchallenged when they indulged in the killing of thousands of civilians in accordance with the scheme of things of the new Iraqi dispensation. The large-scale bloodshed in Iraq could have been avoided if the then George Bush administration had not ignored the call of the UN Security Council to avoid the use of force to deal with the Saddam Hussein regime. The US with the UK’s Blair government in tow invaded Iraq on the mere suspicion that Iraq possessed nuclear weapons. The Iraqi regime was also alleged to have links with Al-Qaida. These charges have proved to be false. Therefore, all those responsible for the massive loss of human lives and property must be made to pay for it.
|
|
|
The chapter of knowledge is a very short, but the chapter of accidents is a very long one. — Lord Chesterfield
|
|
Corrections and clarifications n
In the report “Historic park a picture of neglect” (Page 3, October 25), the second para starts with “As per information achieved under the ….” Instead of ‘achieved’ the word should have been ‘received’. n
The headline “Incinerator gathers rust at GH-6” (Page 3, October 25, Chandigarh Tribune), is incorrect. Rust is not gathered. The correct headline would have been “Incinerator rusting at GH-6”. n
The headline “No word with BCCI over skipping NZ ODIs” (Page 22, October 24) is confusing. It should have been attributed to Dhoni. Otherwise the reader is left guessing who said this. n
In the headline “Two-wheeler sales to slowdown: Study” (Page 20, October 23), slowdown as one word is wrong. It should have been two words. Despite our earnest endeavour to keep The Tribune error-free, some errors do creep in at times. We are always eager to correct them. This column appears twice a week — every Tuesday and Friday. We request our readers to write or e-mail to us whenever they find any error. Readers in such cases can write to Mr Kamlendra Kanwar, Senior Associate Editor, The Tribune, Chandigarh, with the word “Corrections” on the envelope. His e-mail ID is kanwar@tribunemail.com. Raj Chengappa
|
|||||
Probing the Games mess
When
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that Mr V.K. Shunglu, former Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, would specially probe the Commonwealth Games mess, it surprised many. With six organisations already mandated to conduct investigations, what was Mr Shunglu going to detect, notwithstanding a marked resemblance to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes? However, Mr Shunglu himself clarified his role on October 23 by stating that he would look into the “decision-making processes” and identify whether it was strong enough. If indeed that is his term of reference it is welcome because such an inquiry could well pinpoint the way the government works and expose the degree to which the main players missed the larger picture, parried, deflected, delayed or prevaricated during the process of decision-making. It is time to find out if these acts of omission constituted misconduct. For starters, Mr Shunglu will find that many of the delays were intentional, and a means to bypass procedures in the name of urgency. This verges on committing corruption and should be treated as such. However, equally the “My table does not have a single file on it” ploy, which is used by many senior officers to avoid taking responsibility, also needs to be exposed. This style of (mis)management permeates throughout the bureaucracy and is, perhaps, the root cause of government delays. Outsiders to the government expect that senior officers dispose of a proposal either by agreeing to it or replacing it with a better option. But that seldom happens. “Play safe” officers get rid of files by posing seemingly sensible questions like “What are the alternatives available?” The intention behind such a move is to avoid taking a decision. Responding to the query would require tabulating all the alternatives available, putting a cost to each alternative, analysing which option is the best and then justifying the same. It is the person who does the analysis who will pay the price for overlooking something. Most officers at the receiving end are smart enough to give a telephonic instruction to a subordinate to suggest setting up a committee to confabulate on the alternatives available. The result: intentional responsibility shifting and delay. Unfortunately, sleuths from the Central Vigilance Commission or the Comptroller and Auditor-General, far from castigating the officer who first failed to take the decision, considering his position, seniority and experience, over-generalise the problem in an attempt to involve everyone. The result is that no one ever gets into trouble, leave alone receives punishment. It is hoped that Mr Shunglu will come down heavily on such backstroke bureaucrats who displayed lack of initiative and resourcefulness that can be legitimately expected from senior officers. Another subject that needs to be probed is why the factors like return on investment and the long-term sustainability of each project were not taken into account at the time of planning. Take the case of the Commonwealth Games stadia. A company with a mandate for catalysing the development of infrastructure on commercially viable lines should have been involved from the start so that earnings from the future utilisation of the facilities could have been anticipated and costs offset against those earnings. Simply saying that the stadium will now be used for training upcoming athletes will never compensate for the maintenance costs which have to be borne by taxpayers forever. This does not happen in any country. The responsibility for not considering cost-effective Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) options should be squarely put on the shoulders of financial advisers who should have insisted on the adoption of remunerative alternatives. Equally, Mr Shunglu should examine whether the empowered committees of secretaries and ministers gave tangible directions; whether they monitored target keeping; whether they intervened effectively enough and sufficiently in advance to prevent the delays and chaos that scorched the country’s reputation. This would bring to the fore the pitfalls of depending on the committee culture which saturates our system. Committees can be useful to glean information or to overcome procedural requirements when time is short. But empowered committees are expected to do much more. Mr Shunglu would do well to comment on the leadership and supervision by those who headed these empowered groups of secretaries and ministers. Did these bodies foresee trouble in time? Did they extract promises and take action if promises were not kept? Or did they simply grant approval to administrative and financial fait accomplis? Or dispatch hand-holders only after alarm bells rang? It is also expected that Mr Shunglu would look into the role of persons in high authority who approved of ambitious projects despite having been advised in writing that there simply was not enough time to
complete them. One hears of several cases where the advice given was clearly negative, including large-scale renovation and restoration projects. But despite objections, these were pushed through. Equally, it must be seen whether officers tried to protect themselves by advising in writing against taking such decisions, meanwhile enthusiastically undertaking to get the job done and in time. Whether Mr Shunglu will use this opportunity to show how people within the government acted or failed to act, or he will be guided by a routine “audit mentality” on processes alone has to be seen. It is, perhaps, the first and only time that the government’s decision-making processes and capacity are being examined by one man and someone of substance. It is a rare opportunity to expose how our system tolerates ambivalence and deflection which at the end of the day is nothing short of wilful negligence. The sooner those who shirked responsibility are exposed, the
better. The writer is a former Secretary to the Government of India as also Chief Secretary of the Government of Delhi
|
|||||
Don’t mis(s)behave How
can the Supreme Court in the 21st century call a woman ‘keep’?” remarked Indira Jaising, the only woman Additional Solicitor-General attached to the apex court, on the court’s verdict on live-in relationships recently. She even objected to the term concubine. In a world which is increasingly becoming equal and democratic, we do need to mind our language while addressing eves. On the home front, instead of calling a housewife a housewife, call her homemaker. At least this way, she appears to be doing some important work at home. In the past, records kept mum on moms. At present, whether you come into or go from the world, your mother’s name has to be filled in the certificate. On the professional side, if a man — married or unmarried — is addressed as Mister, why should woman be treated differently? For this, the fair sex coined the term Ms (pronounced miz). Hope you didn’t mizz the point. To ward off gender discrimination, neutral terms have come into circulation. The term actor today means both male and female artistes. A chairperson is the one occupying the chair irrespective of one’s reproductive traits. Mankind has become humankind and if your man Friday is a woman, you can call her gal Friday. Earlier, the monetary benefits at the passing away of an earning member always went to his wife, but now with many women contributing their bit to the family income, these go to his/her spouse. Didn’t it take us a while to realise that words like secretary and schoolteacher were not gender-specific? Some decades ago, one could easily address a male as doctor and a female as sister in a hospital. But today, with many female medical practitioners around, one needs to be careful lest the lady with the stethoscope should take offence. And, how would you address today’s male nurses? Brothers, maybe! If eves keep storming male bastions at this rate, then it is anybody’s guess how the church would address a female priest. So far, the male ones were called Fathers! Don’t think the church is averse to change. Instead of calling newlyweds man and wife, the church now addresses them as husband and wife. Calling a prostitute a sex worker may eventually get the government to declare prostitution as an industry. These women may then get some rights from the Constitution. At the moment, they don’t exist in the eyes of the law. Even God is no longer male. The Almighty is increasingly being referred to as He/She. But even in this age of equality, terms like better half and fair sex remain with the ladies. It’s so unfair to imply that the male is the worse half. Do you think women will mind if we started calling India our parentland and our mother tongue as parent
tongue?
|
|||||
As elections to the zila parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats in Haryana are over, the real test for the elected representatives has begun on how best to implement the agenda for reform. Several recommendations, including the Document on Activity Mapping, for effective devolution of functions, functionaries and funds have not yet been implemented. A status report on democractic decentralisation in Haryana Ranbir Singh & Krishan Sarup Gorakhpuria Though the panchayati raj leaders have been able to enter the institutions of grassroots governance, their real test has just begun. They will have to overcome the problem of the lack of role differentiation because the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act (1994) has given almost similar functions to the gram panchayats and the panchayat samitis and has made the zila parishads only advisory, coordinatory and supervisory bodies. Further, despite the legal provisions for organic linkages, the tradition of cooperation between them is conspicuous by its absence. Above all, the much-publicised Document on Activity Mapping released on February 17, 2006, for the devolution of functions, functionaries and funds pertaining to ten departments — Food and Supply, Health, Public Health, Social Justice and Empowerment, Irrigation, Animal Husbandry, Education, Women and Child Development, Agriculture and Forest — has not yet been implemented in its true spirit. Moreover, the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs), which implement all the rural development programmes of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, remain outside their purview. Therefore, the panchayati raj leaders will have to urge the Haryana government to suitably amend the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act (1994) for clear-cut demarcation of the roles of the gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and the zila parishads. The recommendations of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2007) for merging the District Rural Development Agencies in the panchayati raj institutions should be implemented. The state government should issue a gazette notification for effective implementation of the Document on Activity Mapping. The anomaly of appointing a bureaucrat, the Deputy Commissioner, as the chairperson of the district planning committee, having four-fifth representatives of the zila parishad and the municipal bodies among its members and also having the MPs and MLAs as special invitees, will have to be removed. This role may be assigned either to one of the ministers or to the zila parishad president. For ensuring coordination among the three levels of the panchayati raj institutions, they must demand the creation of a supervisory or monitoring committee in every ward of the zila parishad. It should be headed by the member of the parishad representing the ward and include the samitis' members and sarpanches elected from it. The state government should also implement the recommendations of the Third State Finance Commission, submitted to the government in December 2008 as the functional assignment will have no meaning without financial devolution. The zila parishad presidents should prevail over the ruling party leadership to implement the Fifteenth Anniversary Charter of Panchayati Raj Institutions for enhancing their powers endorsed by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008. They should make best use of the limited powers and resources bestowed upon them by the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act (1994), the Document on Activity Mapping, the guidelines of various rural development programmes and the provisions of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005). As the elected representatives, they should ensure good governance for the rural masses. This would possible if they actively participate in the foundation courses on panchayati raj being organised for them under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana of the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj by the Haryana Institute of Rural Development, the Haryana Institute of Public Administration and leading NGOs. This will help them perform their duties effectively. Committees and sub-committees for the gram panchayats and panchayat samitis need to be constituted under the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act (1994). The zila parishads, too, could constitute standing committees for each department whose functions, functionaries and funds have been devolved on the panchayati raj institutions by the Document on Activity Mapping. Experts can be associated with these as special invitees. The officers of the line departments could be made their secretaries ex-officio. This will ensure a healthy interface between the elected representatives and the line departments' officers as well as better implementation of the rural development programmes. It will improve the public distribution system as also reform the rural health system. The pension schemes for the handicapped, orphans, widows and the aged would also be implemented more effectively. The health of the irrigation management system, too, could be improved for the proper use of water and for the prevention of floods. The supply of safe water, too, could be ensured and rural sanitation be improved as well. The quality of the milch cattle could be improved and the veterinary services, too, shall be managed in a better way. The rural education system, which is in a shambles, too, could be re-built. The integrated women and child development programmes should be implemented more effectively. This will not only be helpful for bringing about the Second Green Revolution but also for saving our environment from further degradation. The panchayati raj leaders should take up the agenda of social reforms for building social capital. They should spread awareness among the masses regarding the nefarious designs of the forces of casteism and communalism. They should undertake the responsibility of mobilising the rural masses against the violations of the human rights by the khap panchayats and build a strong public opinion against the dowry system, female foeticide, honour killings, alcoholism and drug addiction. They will have to get out of the agenda of Kharanja-Paranja (construction of streets and drains) for playing this historic role of dealing with the problem of social decay in Haryana despite rapid economic development by successive state governments since the state's formation on November 1, 1966. The panchayati raj leaders should also implement the state government's recent initiatives for the empowerment of women and the Scheduled Castes. The need of the hour is that they must hasten panchayati raj reforms with alacrity, commitment and missionary zeal. The writers are Coordinator and Resource Person respectively of the foundation courses for Haryana’s Zila Parishad Members under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana of the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj
|
|
Democracy and development in J & K THE need for decentralisation of power and strengthening of panchayati raj institutions in Jammu and Kashmir seems to be out of focus. The state has de facto lost out substantially towards obtaining grants contingent on putting in place these institutions of governance. The panchayat elections have been planned for the past two years. Whether the process of these elections goes through this year has to be seen. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, State Rural Development Minister Ali Mohd Sagar and National Conference President and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah have all reiterated the state government’s commitment to hold these elections. Having an elected state government is welcome, necessary and a constitutional necessity. However, the impact of democracy and development has to be felt at the grassroots. That is why bringing about democratisation at the local government level is a must. Elected panchayats, empowered in the matter of formulation of schemes and projects, funding and executing them attuned to local priorities, will go a long way towards reversing the process of alienation of the people at the village and block levels. Even if the ruling alliance manages to get a minority of the panchayat members elected, they would still have made some impact at the grassroot level. The entire panchayat poll process would actually negate the centralised efforts of the Hurriyat factions and the militants to divert the attention of the people, the unemployed youth and even some of the cloistered femalefolk, from the day-to-day bread and butter issues and issues of livelihood to emotive harangues of Azadi. The state administrative machinery will be able to deliver and ensure free and fair elections with their own resources and experience, with albeit, a degree of external assistance from Central security forces, and the Army. Time should not be lost in procrastination in the matter and instead, political will displayed to move ahead. Maybe, there are apprehensions or foreboding of loss of political clout from Srinagar on even Jammu. The power brokers and coteries in the recognised political parties will have to be kept at bay. These elements have to be convinced that they will not wither away but instead have to catalyse the development process in their areas through their panchayats. If the devolution of power does not come about soon, the very effectiveness of democracy as it exists will be undermined. Loss of power for the ruling combine in the next round of elections to the state legislature, though nearly four years away, may then be inevitable. In the words of the Ashok Mehta Committee set up in 1977, panchayati raj is the soul of democracy. The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India was meant to realise this essence of democracy. The Planning Commission has emphasised on numerous occasions that there is no better institution to meet the need of involving peoples’ representative meaningfully in implementing major schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Programme and the Integrated Rural Development Programme. In Jammu and Kashmir, we have to work towards realising the basic objective of the 73rd Amendment. The panchayati raj system has a financial base by virtue of the statutory enactment under the Constitution of India. According to the 73rd Amendment, a three-level institutional framework comprising the village level, intermediate level (panchayat samiti) and the district level, with powers to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, tolls and fees, can be put in place. A sagacious state government should think of devolution of some line functions direct to the panchayats at the different tiers as provided for in the 73rd Amendment. Such a system may be much better and democratic to formulate and implement socio-economic development programmes and projects as per local needs. The existing District Development Boards are not really attuned to micro-level planning and execution of development activities in consonance with actual needs of the people at the village, taluk and block levels. The District Development Boards in reality function as fiefdoms of local MLAs and state ministers of the districts concerned. Going through the panchayat elections in the state should give a thrust to the unraveling of the concentration of political and administrative power at Srinagar - and also to an extent at Jammu. The role and response of the recognised national and state political parities would be important in this respect. Diffusion or decentralisation of power in the interest of people’s empowerment at the grassroot level and thereby giving a new orientation to the development process would give a new dimension to the governance of Jammu and Kashmir. The writer is Principal Controller of Defence Accounts, Northern Command, Jammu
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
THE process of panchayat elections in Haryana that began in May 2010 has been completed by September, 2010, with the election of the chairpersons of almost all the panchayat samitis and presidents of the zila parishads. The sarpanches and panches of gram panchayats and the members of the samitis and parishads were directly elected in May-June, 2010.