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| SFC report consigned to flames, commoner sees change nowhere | | Prolonged administrative delays still irk | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Jul 14: Keeping vehement claims aside, State Government has seemingly consigned the much hyped report of Jammu and Kashmir State Finance Commission (JKSFC) to flames.
The recommendatory report of the four man commission has failed to move the stagnant and sluggish state administration. From Public Service Guarantee Act (PSGA) to RTI, every administrative innovation of NC-Congress coalition government has failed to improve pace at which issues of public importance are addressed by the respective government departments.
Getting a simple no objection certificate for constructing house takes months together. Revenue department is working at the whims and fancies of few officials at the top while the district administration is taking too much time in deciding even those cases where records are self-speaking and complete in all aspects. RTI has also failed to bring the kind of revolution it was expected to across the state.
This all goes contrary to recommendations of State Finance Commission (SFC) whose report is lying with State Government. Commission in its report had taken note of these problems faced by commoners in respective government departments and stated that at micro-level, district development administration continues to be based on a long administrative hierarchy while disposing of a case in a routine.
Commission said that administrative processes and procedures are stereotypes and feudalistic in nature. It goes on to state that end result of existing procedures is inordinate delays at a high cost of public convenience. The commission termed it as administrative negative externality and recommended for keeping a check on it. Commission went on and gave list of channels through which commoner passes to get his issues addressed.
It pointed out that file of commoner is routed through Junior Assistant to Senior Assistant to Head Assistant to Section Officer to Under Secretary to Deputy Secretary to Additional Secretary to Special Secretary to Commissioner/Secretary to final authority who in most of the cases is Minister Incharge. File or case after having passed through 10 gateways is returned in its reverse order.
The order is: Minister Incharge to Commissioner/Secretary to Special Secretary to Additional Secretary to Deputy Secretary to Under Secretary to Section Officer to Head Assistant to Senior Assistant to Junior Assistant. Commission states that such a long disposal channel and procedural hierarchy in operation at a very high cost of public convenience breeds inefficiency and corruption.
It is most time consuming and expensive administrative hierarchical structure, which is unfortunately unwarranted in the digital technology age. Commission maintains that there is need to bring in reforms in this area of governance by having few steps less in the hierarchy like Additional and Special Secretary. It asserts that the present administrative hierarchy is age-old and needs to be reformed in the interest of public good.
The commission has in its report recommended for having a shorter administrative hierarchical structure. The one proposed by the commission involves Receipt Assistant, Disposal Official, Section Officer, Deputy Secretary and Commissioner/Secretary. About this structure, the commission has said that it would provide for delegation of authority, division of labour, reduction in work load, greater efficiency and serve public good.
The commission has concluded by stating that not only should be route shortened, high frequency of casual leaves, unauthorized absence from work, preference for personnel work over the official work should also be checked at all levels. When Chief Secretary Madhav Lal was rung to ask for his comments, he preferred silence. However, an official of Chief Minister's officer responded with a comment "Yeh J&K hai, Yahan kuch nahin badalta, Yahan sab chalta hai" (This is J&K. Nothing changes here. Everything goes on here).
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