Just Me - India

Last week we were witness to a unusual telecast, live on television. The rescue of a kid (6 years or so) who had fallen into a 60 feet deep hole, about 1 feet wide, in the ground (Kurushetra, Haryana). He was rescued successfully after more than 48 hours. This was really great; and all of us are thankful to the rescuers (villagers, army jawans, police).

Reality television at its peak.

But, the bizarre part is this:

• Why has nobody been booked for digging such a hole and leaving it uncovered. Actually when this question was put to the Ministers present there (Chief Minister, Member of Parliament from the place) - their answer was something that must be recorded for posterity (as proof of how callous our leadership is). The answer was something on the lines of - let us not do witch-hunt, all that ends well is well. They were not even committed to a decent investigation !!
• Strangely enough of all the people, the Public Relations Officer (does such a post even exist ! i was not aware) of that area was transferred ostensibly because he did not inform the Chief Minister 'soon enough' about this incident. What is going on?
• Government has announced free medical attention to the kid. This is good and expected. Among other things that have been announced : Rs 5 lacs, Rs 2 lacs by a media channel, a visit to meet the bollywood movie stars (some of whom gifted the kid with various things), and many more such goodies from various quarters like free education (by govt, but could not verify this one). All this is good ! BUT, does a poor kid need fall into a hole in the ground to gain access to education and chance at decent living ??
• There are thousands of man-holes all around the country, which remain uncovered. Is anyone bothered? Hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people die every year by falling in such open man-holes or coming in touch with live electic wires on roads across India. All this because of callous attitude of government servants (who are responsible for maintaining these)

What is RTI Act?

• It allows individuals to request for information from government departments.
• This information is usually in the form of files with jottings on it by various government (public is a misnomer) servants.
• It was enacted less than a year ago.

How does it help?

• It was one of the few forward looking acts, allowing for greater transperancy in workings of the 'babus' who serve their political masters.
• It allows ordinary individuals (you don't need to be a govt. babu) to request for information on status of projects etc. This is of great help given the fact that the common man usually doesn't have a clue as to what is happening to the application he sent for pension, or why a certain public project was stopped.

Was the act implemented in its true spirit?

• Yes and No.
• In some states like Maharashtra this act was indeed implemented to a reasonable extent, while others it was not.

What is the government proposing to do:

• It plans to severely restrict the information that can be requested as part of this act.
• Specifically except for some areas like social development, 'file jottings' of the government babus will not be disclosed. Only some basic information will be disclosed.

What is the impact of such a decision:

• The real usefulness and teeth of this act will be lost.
• This is because many important points and decisions on project files are actually noted in file jottings by govt babus.

Why is the govt. proposing to do this:

• It does not have an answer.
• But, it is easily discernible that, it is doing so under the pressure from Government Babus and its Ministers.
• These folks do not want the common man to know what decision they took and why.
• The govt. babus are used to not being questioned by the common man, doing things at their own pace, guaranteed employment (irrespective of performance) as long as they keep their political masters happy.
• It helps keep the spirit of: "Kiss up, and Kick Down', which is exactly how they like it.
• Inspite of the opposition from many people it knows that it need not care. After all it can win elections easily by dividing the society on the lines of caste and religion(which they are eager to do). What does a ordinay villager know about RTI act after all, it knows a few individuals like Anna Hazare and their likes, and some media houses they need not care for.

The question therefore is:

• What is government and its babus afraid of? What do they have to hide.
• How long will ordinary people be treated like second grade citizens compared to the government babus and their political masters.
• Have we sent away the Britishers and replaced them with inefficient and inept bureaucracy ?

Public Servants : The word is a misnomer. It is the public who serve them, not the other way round. Visit any government office, and you will get a taste of it.

And as for the title : The Great Fall - the fall is only in terms of quality of work.

Consider the following key problems faced by indians:

1. Shortage of Electicity/Power.

2. Extremely poor quality of public health services.

3. Extremely poor quality of primary education provided by govt.

4. Poor quality of roads.

5. Largely corrupt, inefficient Police System.

6. Missing drinking / potable water in large parts of india.

7. Stupid laws, and their blind adherence. Laws are meant to make our lives better, but they are often used to harass people.

Now, who is responsible for ALL the above: The so-called Public Servants.

Then, when so much is at stake, why isn't it set right?

Because:

1. There is no incentive for the public servants to do their work diligently. (When you guarantee a life time of employment, and promotions are not based on performance, what else do you expect?)

2. Their political masters spend more time finding the best bungalows to live in and examining loop-holes in the system to make irrelevant foreign jaunts (very often they go to study traffic management in Chicago!, but have never visited their neighborhood in a public transport :)). So you get the idea.

3. Media spends time chasing silly/sensational stories, instead of highlighting macro level problems and being part of the solution. The news channels resemble soap operas, and very often take on the role of a judge instead of being a reporter ! A Well intentioned media can be of help.

To be fair - there are well intentioned public servants too. But they are too few. And this species is especially rare at senior positions.