news details |
|
|
| Austerity measures are only skin deep | | |
SANT KUMAR SHARMA
Jammu, Dec 14: The austerity measures the state government has initiated are a cosmetic exercise aimed at trying to impress the masses. These measures do not mean that the ministers and the bureaucrats have any problem or dearth of funds or manpower at their disposal.
Manpower on the payroll of the government is a vital resource that is being misused rampantly. The cost to the exchequer of this important and costly resource is not reflected anywhere in the austerity measures.
Similarly, the cost of vehicles and fuel, misused by those in power and without, also runs into hundreds of crores of rupees in Jammu & Kashmir. However, the government has failed to rationalise the use of manpower, motorised transport and fuel etc, according to several enlightened citizens.
During discussions on the utility or futility of the purported austerity measures announced by the state government, it emerged that most of the people believe them to be a mere eyewash (read hogwash if you like that better).
Most people seemed to believe that these measures can be explained better with the help of the phrase ``tip of the iceberg’’ in a fairly figurative sense. Just as the tip of the iceberg does not tell you much about the huge ice underneath, the austerity measures do not touch on the colossal wasteful expenditure that goes on in administration.
A retired government official, Mr Om Prakash Gupta, spent 35 years in the administration at different levels. He pointed out the wide prevalence of misuse of security cover provided by the government.
``If the government is serious in taking austerity measures and wants to cut down costs, there is also the need to curtail or withdraw altogether the security cover provided to many former bureaucrats and policemen,’’ Mr Gupta said.
He welcomed that austerity measures initiated by the finance minister, Mr Abdul Rahim Rather, and hoped that they would lead to a saving of crores of rupees. The measures could lead to generation of funds which can then be utilised for giving employment to the youth of the state, particularly in the rural and backward areas.
Misuse of security cover provided to former bureaucrats, discredited politicians and former policemen is something he termed as entirely a wasteful expenditure. He said the security cover of many of them is more of a ``status symbol’’ than a necessity which it was at the height of militancy.
He said the security cover was provided initially, years ago, on the basis of threat perception and needs to be reviewed now. Since the Chief Minister, Mr Omar Abdullah, is himself the home minister of the state as well, he should order an immediate review of the security cover across the board.
Mr Jagdev Singh, another citizen, said that during the review, the CM will find that hundreds of policemen can be withdrawn from the security cover and deployed elsewhere. This would help save money as the government is constantly trying to mobilise more security personnel for general duties, he pointed out.
It is astonishing that the security forces personnel assigned to politicians, bureaucrats et al have not been accommodated within the premises but in nearby parks or green patches much to the annoyance of the neighbours, many citizens complained.
They said that while the person given the security cover brandishes the armed personnel as ``status symbol’’, it creates fear among the public, particularly children, who would otherwise love to play in the parks and public spaces where these personnel live.
Another department which spends money most lavishly, under pressure from politicians and bureaucrats, is the Estates Department, directly under the CM, the citizens pointed out.
The houses controlled by the Estates Department meant to accommodate the government officials and politicians, big and small, are repaired twice every year, both in Srinagar as also Jammu, they argued.
When one constructs a house privately, it is rarely whitewashed once in four to five years. Not so the Estates Department houses where repairs are carried out every six months. This leads to colossal wastages and pilferage and leakages, a government official said. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
