POLITICAL DIARY

New Delhi, 5 April 2008

Babudom Gets A Hike

WHAT ABOUT EXIT POLICY?

By Poonam I Kaushish

It is raining big bucks in New Delhi’s political Wonderland. A cursory glance would have Alice exclaim, “Who needs rabbits. Bureaucrats will do!” And over the last fortnight we have been witness to a grand show. The farmer loan waiver razzmatazz has made way for the Babu bonanza. Working on a perfect give and take. Pay hike in return for vote. 

How else should one react to the Sixth Pay Commission’s report earmarking an over three-fold increase in the salaries and allowances for Government employees across the board for both civilian and defence personnel. All with retrospective affect beginning January 2006. No matter that when implemented, this is expected to cause an additional annual encumbrance of Rs 20,000 crore, Rs 12,500 crore this year alone. All in the aam aadmi’s khaata.

There is no gainsaying that there is a genuine case to increase the salaries of Government employees, but shouldn’t it be linked to better performance and productivity? The present hike doesn't seem to be have any realistic link to performance. Is it justifiable? Honestly speaking, absolutely not. Specially against the backdrop that the bureaucracy today works on Andrew Jackson's famous dictum "let the victors have the spoils." Bluntly, they have become a law onto themselves. Resulting in no accountability, no fear of being fired, and hence it’s the biggest pay packet for non-productive work, coupled with the arrogance that they are indispensable.

Most civil servants, according to popular belief, neither take initiative nor have any commitment to the service of the people. They are more than happy to be on the right side of their political masters. This helps, at least some of them, to get promoted more rapidly than their performance and seniority justify. Some even succeed in bagging political offices by obliging the right politician through thick and thin. Top slots in the administration are now filled in accordance with the whims and fancies of the political master, contrary to the established norms in regard to appointments and tenure in leading civil services.

Large-scale shuffles and reshuffles of the bureaucracy with every change of the political master have become overtly common. Feelings are gaining ground that political closeness and personal loyalty to powerful political superiors is more rewarding than mere seniority or merit. Instead of the right man for the right job being the criteria, there is invariably a wrong man for the right job for wrong reasons! Bringing it to such a pass that caste, corruption, political connections and administrative lacunae are the factors that count when it comes to promotions. Consequently, most babus have little interest in taking any initiatives and are willing to make self and boss-serving compromises with the fundamentals of administration.

Remember, some time back the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh abjectly confessed: “I am disgusted with the system”, when it was discovered that even Cabinet decisions had remained where they were taken --- on paper. Perhaps, the file-pushers had to apply their heads to arrive at an agreed conclusion as to who should push the file. And on who’s orders? The Cabinet, their Minister or the political mai baap?

That apart, corruption is synonymous with babudom. Be it when applying for a telephone connection, ration card, driver’s license, passport et al. Nothing moves till palms have been greased for an average Indian. If one doesn’t have the paisa then one must be thick skinned and have no self respect. Babudom thrives on holding one to ransom and at the mercy of their whims and fancies. From the TC in the railways, to the Traffic cop, there’s no questioning them.

One recent study by the Center for Media Studies, New Delhi, on corruption in urban services reveals that "nearly half of those who avail the services of the most frequently-visited public departments of Government in the country have had first hand experience of greasing palms at least once". It is this pervasiveness that has forced many to charge that bureaucrats have "created such a steel frame around them that even the might of the State can't dismantle it".

Between 1996 and 2000, the CBI and the Central Vigilance Commission investigated 13,265 individuals for corruption. And, between 1998 and 2001, the CBI registered 2,256 cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Of these 41 were from administrative departments, four were from the police and 23 from the revenue department.

Think. Although India has more than 19 million State and federal Government employees, about 20,000-odd federal officers control the collection and disbursement of over $71 billion of federal revenues every year. Of these, 6,000 senior administrative officers and an equal number of revenue officers dictate the flow of funds throughout the country.

Even if a handful of these officials were to allow 10 percent leakage in revenue, it would cost the Government $7 billion. And, assuming corrupt officials get a cut of just 10 per cent, the Indian bureaucracy gets over $700 million a year - the amount of money that the Central Bureau of Investigation estimates is spent towards greasing the palms of Indian bureaucrats. Asserted an “honest corrupt babu,” “If greedy Indian businessmen can evade taxes, influence policies and make money through devious means, why should not the Government officer who moves their files get a share of the booty?”

Tragically today corruption has become a low risk, high-profit area. Wherein the bureaucracy is the third angle of the triangular neta-babu-business axis which has perpetuated a vulturistic culture of the winner takes all. The modus operandi has been perfected to the last, deliberate scarcity of goods and services, red tapeism and delay, lack of transparency (no matter Right To Information Act), the cushion of a babu is  innocent till proven guilty and last but not least the bhaichara and biradari which bind the corrupt together.

What kind of a system of governance then lies ahead of us? A clue can be found in a survey of probationers at the National Academy of Administration. It states that only 32 per cent of the new recruits condemn corruption in the civil services. Only five per cent believe in harsh measures to reduce corruption. Another 45 per cent believe that they are above the law.

What next? Clearly, the Government must downsize. From the Secretary down to the chaprasi. Non-performing government officers would be forcibly retired at the end of 20 years service. Alternatively, if need be, ruthlessly dump the deadwood and irrelevant baggage. Besides, organizational competence and productivity should be commensurate with a pay hike in salaries, perks and promotions as in the private sector. An exit policy of hire and fire is paramount if we desire an accountable, trustworthy and honest bureaucracy.

Most important, they should be made more accountable. The private sector is less corrupt because it has more accountability. We need is a law, which will provide for confiscation of all ill-gotten wealth without any delays and hesitations. Once the message goes down the rank and file that all ill-gotten wealth will be confiscated, then the burden of proof will be on the bureaucrat to prove that he got it legitimately. Ditto with the politician and the industrialist.

Will the bureaucracy have the courage to correct itself and overcome red tape? One way is to internalize the zero tolerance principle and the "sunset principle" as in the US. Under this method, justification for any governmental activity is all the time under scrutiny so that no acts of misdemeanour take place.

True, the country can boast of a Government of the people and a Government by the people. The moot point is: Can India look forward to a Government for the people? Will our steel frame continue to rot and rust and revel in mediocrity?

The writing is on the wall. We are reaching a point of no return. If the Indian bureaucracy does not change its sense of values, it will become increasingly irrelevant. It may exist by the sheer force of Newton's First Law of inertia but it will not be playing a role which would make it a meaningful part of the governance. It is the responsibility of the bureaucracy to see that the government functions for the people Will babudom rise to the occasion? Or will it be remembered as the conversion of human energy into solid waste! ---- INFA

(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)