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| Victims of bureaucratic shackles | | | Shivaji Sarkar
Irrespective of the political party or coalition at the helm, the laws and rules of the land are enforced by bureaucrats, who often work in connivance with large corporates, and are hardly accountable to the public
The ‘price mafia’ has learned to rule the country through the bureaucracy. A change in Government does not bring the relief that people expect, as prices continue to soar and services are made expensive through bureaucratic manipulation. Public facilities built with people’s MONEY, such as roads and highways, are made unaffordable so as to feed the greed of the few. Workers’ rights are often trampled upon and agricultural lands becomes easy prey for land sharks.
Even the genetically modified crop proposal is a ploy to increase food prices. Petroleum products tell a similar story. Operators want these to be sold in the black MARKET through a provisioning of “pollution check must” formula. The new vehicles have good engines that do not cause pollution for years. Why then is a pollution check so expensive? Through the years of Manmohanomics, the bureaucracy, which does not have to a pay a farthing for any facility, and the mafia connived to create a slogan, “If you want better service, you have to pay more”. Services are deliberately deteriorated so that people may be asked to pay more for ‘better’ services and line the pockets of unscrupulous agents who dot every nook and corner.
For example, there is no justification for levying ‘parking charges’ on vehicles at airports that do not really park anywhere but merely drive through the carriageway to drop off or pick up passengers within a few minutes. Airports are built with public money and the people have the right to visit it and not pay for it. The private operator, who had entered the airport business in connivance with the Manmohan Singh Government, has not INVESTED a penny, as the Comptroller and Auditor-General has pointed out.
The people had voted in this general election for change. But instead, they have been met with some unpalatable developments. For instance, the new Government is on an overdrive to amend The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, in a manner that will effectively make it easier to usurp farm land owned by poor farmers. The amendment even suggests that the Government does not need consent to acquire land, and dilutes the stringent law that passed by the UPA regime. The Singur episode in West Bengal points to the problems that are bound to happen without proper land acquisition rules. Government-acquired land is passed on to private parties in the name of public good. Some large corporates are known to have benefitted by almost Rs33,000 crore in one deal through such state largesse. Can India really trust a Government that run by bureaucrats, whatever its colour may be? Regime changes are in the normal course of things; however, the rules made by the lawmakers are unfortunately are not implemented by them but enforced by bureaucrats. This is where democracy becomes a sham. Why should the country allow more foreign direct investment in the insurance, railways, road, defence or any other sector? This country’s experience has been that FDI, instead of being a channel to bring in INVESTMENTS, is actually a route to repatriate more money out of the country, in the name of profits, technical fee and administrative costs.
Nobody brings money into the insurance sector. It is easy money for the insurance companies who, except for initial office set up costs, are not known to INVEST a penny. Had this not been the case, the Government in the 1950s would not have to ask all foreign companies to pack their bags and leave. Who is India batting for by raising the FDI ceiling? The country does not need dollars to run an insurance company — this is public knowledge. Now, look at Uttar Pradesh’s supposedly socialist Government, run by the Samajwadi Party. It has made all efforts to increase even the basic charges of electricity by almost four times. The Centre has the powers to act in the favour of the people but the queer logic that ‘services have to be paid for, at the will of the operators’ prevents it from doing so. Rajasthan has made draconian changes to labour laws. The Centre is trying to repeat it. No labour law has been implemented, if it has ever been in the interest of the working class. Labour courts have been able to undo the injustice but such cases are few and far apart. Why are we trying to undo the little protection the labourers have? India needs perhaps should learn a lesson or two from the supposedly exploitative Gulf countries where workers’ rights are better protected than they are here. The Gulf countries subsidise food items and prices of essential COMMODITIES have not risen even through the worst global crisis. The Government needs to do more to protect the interests of the poor. The people have waited through 24 years of Manmohanomics. They now want quick action to free themselves of bureaucratic shackles.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer) |
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