Editor,
It was truly refreshing and encouraging to read your well informed and insightful article “Revolutionizing the bureaucracy- A tall order”. Encouraging for us the lesser mortals, as I call myself in the government, because (a) the article shows that you have done your homework and (b) you are bold enough to print what you find to be the truth/reality.
Coming to the IBDLP – a giant leap in conception as you called it. Let us give kudos to the Chief Minister for his pro active thinking and his zeal to get somewhere. My only observation is that this has been “conceived” in the higher echelons of power and is literally being pushed down to the lesser mortals who are to implement it. The government has always being giving lip service to the slogan “bottoms up approach” and in this case this mission – albeit a good one in concept – has been conceived and now born (pre maturely). Now the baby will be handed over to the implementers who will do the ‘nitty gritty’ which is the herculean task. Success, it is said , is 95% planning and 5% execution. In this case the reverse is true. I was appalled to hear at one point of time that the chairman of the State Planning Board was not even aware of this programme. That too in a forum where the Chief Minister was already announcing that the government is going to implement it. Such major decisions need to be deliberated and conceptualized. Otherwise what is the board there for?
True- the senior bureaucrats did go to the districts, but not to solicit views but to tell them what this is about. Everybody I have talked to seem to be totally fuzzled and all of them do not have a clue of what this all about because there are so many divergent views/opinions.
There are no clear mandates/guidelines and everything you talk about seems to be ‘included’ in the IBDLP.
What is going to happen when the implementation of the program (well conceived) with no clear objectives is giving me goose pimples.
The Planning Commission etc are very well impressed and the state is definitely getting good mileage. My appeal is that the powers that be should kindly take into consideration that impressing the Govt of India and obtaining substantial funds and getting whatever mileage the bureaucracy gets is all very well but we need to take all the stakeholders, officials etc. into consideration because these are the people who will need to nurse the “baby” for a long time and see it come on ground and grow into an adult, and not the bureaucracy who will be going on to more juicy assignments.
Your observation about the appointment of consultants is so true. I was surprised, to say the least, to learn, for example, that an economist (of whatever repute) was appointed as the Horticulture consultant. Where are we going?
Yours etc.,
Clive Nongkynrih
Via e-mail