Real problem is not govt, it's bureaucracy

I am often asked about my tenure as the Chairman of the Punjab State Farmers’ & Farm Workers’ Commission (April 6, 2017-September 20, 2021). Where does one begin except at the very beginning? On the significant, or call it fateful, day, the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) and Secretary to Government of Punjab and the Commission’s member-secretary sat me down on the chair of my predecessor and left. I found myself in a very large office and not even a hint of guidance on what my work entailed.

Flummoxed but undeterred, I immediately sent a letter to the Department of Agriculture, asking it to provide information on pesticide, seed and fertiliser sample failures in the state. The data – that would have taken a few hours to put together in the private sector – took two years of dogged perseverance and persuasive cajoling to get. It took six months just to get an officer from the department to assist the commission in its work. Having never worked in the government, the chase taught me a vital lesson; the real problem is not the government, it is the bureaucracy. That was lesson number 1.

To cut the long story short; the commission found instances of pesticide, fertiliser and seed sample failures where no cases had been filed for 10 years or had been time-barred. Consequently, about 150 officers were charge-sheeted. The commission ensured that no one was to be penalised but compliance become hundred per cent thereafter. I was told the officers had threatened to agitate.

The same happened a little later when we proposed that the government create a price stabilisation fund for milk, food and vegetables by imposing a 20 per cent fee in the charges received by the arhtiyas for procurement of grains for the FCI. The arhtiyas arrived flexing their muscles with imposing postures and pretences. I laughed and told them that if the arhtiyas were to agitate at my doorstep, it would do good for the commission’s image. Smarter as they were, they easily convinced the government to ignore my advice.

To understand how the system worked, different departments were to be called to brief me on their working and issues. Instead, the commission decided to visit all departments and meet officers and the junior staff in their respective offices. It was an eye-popping experience, the kind where one gets hit on the head with a bat. It led to the next awakening; “inept governance” is the elephant in the room that holds back progress. Consequently, in the draft agricultural policy, the first chapter is on ‘governance’. It was the first-ever policy of any kind to identify governance as a problem and a solution. It was not palatable for many but, with time, my stand was vindicated.

The commission has an advisory role. Yet, I have regrets; not for what I did but about decisions I did not make or was dissuaded from taking. It is hard to quantify all the work in one article but some laws that got enacted were path-breaking. I was doubtful that the then Chief Captain Minister Amrinder Singh would agree to ban truck unions, but his administrative acumen being outstanding, truck unions were banned! They kept operating in places like Bathinda though.

That was the third learning; never be afraid to punch above your weight. On regulating electricity subsidy to the economically better farmers, the CM was persuaded by his office not to tread the politically contentious path, even though the farmer unions had concurred with this position.

I must acknowledge that the farmers’ union leaders were supportive of the commission’s efforts in policy formation. Making the draft Punjab state farmers’ policy taught us the fourth valuable lesson; a transparent consultation process is a fundamental requirement for achieving positive policy outcomes. Additionally, we ensured Punjab banned the sale of herbicide Glyphosate, the only state to do so.

There were other remarkable wins. In 2002, the government had allocated over 300 acres of land in Ladhowal near Ludhiana to a business group for a measly Rs 2,000 per acre for supporting agriculture. On finding out that the land was not being used for the purpose, the commission studied the subject and submitted a report, based on which the group returned the land without litigation to the state. This could be a historical first for the private sector. That was the fifth takeaway: success is only possible if one works as a team as the commission did; not as individuals.

My own experiences derived from my farm in Abohar helped me in my work with the commission. Agriculture college students train at our farm as part of their degree course. Their practical knowledge is left wanting in many aspects. After joining the commission, I was shocked to learn that unlike medical colleges that are regulated by the Union Government, agriculture colleges were not regulated. Agriculture is a state subject and the state did not have any such law. On the commission’s suggestion, the state government enacted the Punjab State Council for Higher Education Act 2017.

Out of the 112 colleges in the state, the Punjab State Council for Higher Education (PSCAE) asked students to avoid taking admission in colleges offering BSc (agricultural) which were not fulfilling conditions under the Act. It also released a list of the institutes that complied with the minimum standards prescribed. The list had only 15 names. It is another matter that not a single college invited the farmers’ commission to interact with college students thereafter!

The farm experience had taught me about the difficulty of viably operating a greenhouse. We decided to list each greenhouse subsidised by government agencies. To its shock, the commission documented that more than 90 per cent green houses had stopped operating within three to four years. The commission had a similar experience on the suo motu inquiry report on canal water pollution in the Beas river from the Chadha distillery spill. The sixth learning was that the system tends to turn a blind eye to failures and evidence-based research should influence the policy and action. We, thus, recommended that actual beneficiaries be allowed to assess the programme outcomes. When the commission reached out to district headquarters to follow up on the rehabilitation of families affected by farmers’ suicide, it found that, like other laws, it was not even on their agenda.

More initiatives of the commission as the first-ever study to map aquifers and expansion of salinisation in Punjab and the action plan to boost the dairy sector gather dust. It gave me the seventh critical lesson: for any successful policy adoption, one should factor in the political economy and the leadership’s insatiable desire for re-election and retaining power.

Was it frustrating? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. It was exciting and consciously satisfying.