The tremendous stress that the new government
is laying on nation building is bound to give results but it would take its time.
Nation building demands the toil of generations and definitely does not come
cheap. The future, perhaps for the first time indeed looks bright.
One of the fundamental issues that needs to be addressed is the deep-rooted corruption, corruption that has engulfed the
entire grassroots to the extent that there is hardly any interaction of the
common man with the tantra that is not laced with graft. The common man yes,
for the powerful are beyond its grip and the wealthy find a way around it.
Yet not many complain as long as the work is
done, for unfortunately corruption has started getting regarded as an
inescapable part of the cutting-edge processes.
In my over four decades of working within the
system, I never witnessed a serious and concerted drive by my superiors to
eradicate this evil from the various organizations. Unfortunate still was the
reluctance to even bring this issue on the table and the effort merely remained
confined to a review of the working of the assorted vigilance setups without
appreciating that it is more of a cultural issue.
The real ease of doing business would indeed
come, even for the common man when he does his business with the government at
various levels, only when the cutting-edge functions are not laced with graft.
For us bureaucrats especially, remaining confined to our comfort zone is the
most ideal scenario. Why accept the ills of the system and why try to set it
right when our life passes on peacefully handling issues that sound more impressive.
The irony remains that those of us who can
change the system remain unaffected by it, and therefore have no stake in the
change.
The solution lies in first acceptance of the
problem, placing it bang on the table and then going about process reforms with
a zeal previously unheard of. Yes, the solution lies in simplification of the
various processes that define governance, empowerment of the executive to
enable fixing direct responsibility and accountability and having a system of
swift redressal of the issues as well as that of exemplary punishment to the
delinquent.
The complexity of the tantra is the issue. The
plethora of thumb impressions that every decision necessitates ensure that no
single bloke can ever be held directly responsible. Such a system only
emboldens the inspectors, the keepers of the cutting-edge who demand
compensation from the client for every act for which they are getting a salary
from the government too.
It is the same for everyone, except the high
and the mighty. Whether one is an individual or a corporate, every single
interaction with the Sarkar, especially at the cutting-edge level is generally a
deal where nothing happens without a consideration.
We have to pause and think. Is it not necessary
to go in for reforms – cultural, procedural and structural so that working
becomes simpler, graft reduces and delivery multiplies?
Whenever I interact with my friends who are
from the corporate world or who are plain simple citizens of the nation, the
harsh reality comes out tumbling fast. And my friends on this side of the fence
who indulge in governance generally feign ignorance or express helplessness.
We cannot have the mission areas – ease of
governance and make in India, compromised by officials embroiled in corruption
at the cutting-edge level. Cleansing the muck of decades is definitely not an
easy task, yet a task that has to be handled.
One hopes and prays that the massive
expectations are not belied.