Open Forum
New Delhi, 12 August 2020
Welfare Programmes
HURRIED, BUT INEFFECTIVE?
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
The process of
governance over the years, via discussions and debates, has undergone a change
in India. As is evident, there is a new trend of launching policies and
programmes in a hurry without ensuring their effectiveness or for that matter the
actual gains for the intended beneficiaries. Besides, neither lackadaisical
pace of progress at the grass-root level, nor making requisite necessary amends
for better governance seems a priority.
There is no denying
that the need for infrastructure development has been high on the agenda. Successive
governments have launched several plans with some improvement having taken place,
but the spectre of Indian villages has fundamentally not changed. The most
affected are the densely-populated northern as well as Eastern states, where
people are poor, and infrastructure development rather insignificant. At the
same time, it’s rather unfortunate that backwardness is manifest in many of these
districts, which send politicians to the power of seat.
For example take the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY),
launched six years ago aimed at developing model villages. Reports indicate the
programme has been found to be ineffective in ushering in development in chosen
gram panchayats with a central performance audit urging the Union Rural Development
Ministry to review the scheme. The Common Review Mission (CRM) 2019 of the Ministry
pointed out: “The CRM teams that visited the States neither did, nor found any
significant impact of this scheme, in many of the SAGY villages.”
In detailing the
reasons for the lapse, it was found that Members of Parliament did not give any
significant amount of money from the MPLADS. In isolated cases, where MPs have
been proactive, some infrastructure development has taken place but the scheme
has not made any perceptible impact. Though SAGY scheme has no budgetary
allotment, each MP is expected to select a village in his constituency for
development. The goal being to develop three model villages by each MP by March
2019 and five more by 2024, so far very few MPs were seen to be adopting
villages under SAGY.
The CRM has also expressed
concern over the quality of roads constructed under schemes of State
governments and maintenance of rural roads under Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) after the end of five-year
warranty period. It is significant that the audit urged the Centre to frame a
‘National Rural Roads Policy’ to ensure uniform norms of construction and
maintenance, irrespective of whether the road belongs to a State scheme or the PMGSY.
However, there are grave doubts whether this would be earnestly followed up, as
an indifferent administrative machinery, which is no secret, doesn’t really shortlist
the lapses and to make amends.
Another example which
the Central audit found even more intriguing is the work generated under MGNREGS.
It remains half of the entitled 100 days per household annually despite a
higher demand in States, urging the Centre to order a study in the mismatch.
The audit termed the Distract Development Coordination & Monitoring
Committee, which oversees the implementation of Central schemes in every
district, unwieldy and non-functional!
As per the CRM 2019,
work given under MGNREGS is much less than the demand. In 2019, the average
work per household was 48 days. It was a bit higher at 50 in 2018 but lower at
45 in 2017. The report pointed out: “A study may be undertaken for reviewing
the wage rate under MGNREGS and the reasons why number of days of work provided
per household is less than half of the entitlement despite the fact that in
several places visited by CRM, the demand for more work was articulated.”
Though from recent
reports it is quite discernible that in the current fiscal this will not happen,
with States like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat having already touched
around 90% of mandays compared to the work done in 2019-20, there is need for
giving additional resources of around 15 to 20% as most migrants don’t want to
venture out of their States and are facing acute financial crisis.
The examples are
proof enough that the Government’s crucial programmes aren’t being properly
monitored but are not reaching the intended beneficiaries. While this is one
side of mis-governance, the other is the lack of direction and judicious
planning. Not just the government but the ineffectiveness of the private sector,
which plays a less pivotal role, is equally manifest.
Recently, the Adani
Green Energy, the renewable energy arm of Adani Group, bagged the world’s
largest solar energy contract to build an 8000 MW capacity photovoltaic power
plant and also set up 2000 MW capacity domestic solar panel manufacturing
facility. But questions do arise as the group is reported to be facing massive
debt burden and this dampens the project becoming successful. Incidentally, the
Adanis are said to have defaulted in taking over three government-run airports
set for privatisation. State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) was said to
be ready to extend its contract with concessionaires at six airports until
March 2021. It is feared that the government decision to delay airport privatisation
will eventually benefit the group.
Thus, it’s time to thoroughly
examine awarding of vital projects to ‘favoured’ private sector partners, who
may not be so successful. Earlier, two debt-ridden Indian private enterprises
were awarded the task of large-scale manufacturing of semiconductors. This is
despite the fact that the semiconductor industry was estimated to grow from
$10.02 billion in 2013 to $52.58 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth
rate of 26.72%. This inability led to imports rising and the country continuing
to lose billions of dollars in this sector.
Further, at this time
when the government is reeling under severe economic stress, it has taken loans
from the Asian Development Bank worth $1.5 billion to fight COVID-19 and $1
billion from the World Bank to help protect livelihoods. Shockingly, amidst
this, the Government proposes to execute its Central Vista project for New
Delhi, costing a whopping Rs 20,000 crore and not shelve it!
The amount could have
been used instead to aid the country’s health infrastructure, which continues
to be quite poor in the times of the pandemic, even in comparison to emerging
economies. The country is struggling to provide hospital facilities, oxygen
equipment and ventilators, among others and a sum of Rs 20,000 crore could according
to estimates help buy 14 lakh ventilators, needed to save lives. There is a
massive shortfall even in the number of basic hospital beds and other essential
equipment as the pandemic gathers speed in some States. Instead of
concentrating on these essential needs, pursuing grandiose vista plans does
sound ridiculous.
Besides in the
backdrop of migrants’ struggling for sheer survival, job creation is vital for
the economy. Additional allocation of funds for government welfare programmes
is imperative. Reliance on the private sector hasn’t been too encouraging as it
normally invests for high returns and profits. Thus, the government needs to
get its priorities right and ensure that its programmes and welfare schemes
make an impact, specially where its most-needed i.e. rural India and the economically
weaker sections. Only then can governance, through welfare programmes, usher in
what is being termed as ‘Ram Rajya’. --- INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
New Delhi
12 August 2020
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