Patricia Mukhim
It is interesting to listen to a Chief Minister who knows his onions as far as governance and politics is concerned and who is also acutely aware of how the two intersect. At a recent function inaugurating a first ever World Bank project called the Community-Led Landscape Management Project in Meghalaya (CLLMP) when Conrad Sangma was asked to light the inaugural lamp with three wicks, he invited the World Bank Representative, Piyush Dogra, Meghalaya Chief Secretary, Y Tshering and lit one himself, leaving out his ministerial colleagues. The reason for doing so was symbolic Conrad said. The Project would require the active partnership of the three key players- the political leadership, the bureaucracy and The World Bank. Conrad is widely travelled and knows a thing or two about every aspect of governance. Even about the Basin Development Project, Conrad mentioned that he had visited the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia as part of a parliamentary team and seen how the rivers draining into the basin were drying up and what was done to regenerate them by the use of technology.
The Chief Minister said technology is integral to governance and if western countries can use technology why not us? With Artificial Intelligence (AI) real time monitoring is possible and also strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation need to be demonstrated. Indeed, at no time have we witnessed Climate Change as we are today with freak storms and hailstones that are the size of tennis balls causing mass destruction of crops and homes.
Conrad is perhaps the first chief minister who wants change and wants it now. He is a man in a hurry and he has to be because of the humungous developmental backlog. Unlike his predecessor, Dr Mukul Sangma, however, Conrad is determined to take all his colleagues in the Government along in this new journey that he has undertaken in the last two months. It is intuitive that Piyush Dogra should end his speech with this quote from an African proverb, “If you want to run fast, run alone. If you want to run far, run together.” Dr Mukul Sangma ran fast and ran alone most of the time. This was what alienated his cabinet colleagues. Conrad Sangma cannot afford to do that although on most occasions he will be tempted to sprint instead of walk since there’s so much to do and so little time… In fact, while speaking at the same meeting the brand new CM said, “Officials are there not for a 9-5 job. We are here to bring change; let’s not lose time; time is precious. Let us set targets and goals and have clear timelines. Above all, monitoring of projects is important. ” Well said! This has been Meghalaya’s biggest setback.
All our projects/programmes have a tendency to not take off or to drag endlessly. And no one is penalized for such delays because for previous governments, outcomes were not an important part of the Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) of officials. Non-performers and laggards got the same credits as those who showed results. Clearly, Conrad Sangma needs to change the rules of the game. Just because he is young and the officers he works with are senior in age does not mean that he should tolerate incompetence. In fact a huge reshuffle of the bureaucracy is overdue. Meghalaya is where it is today because the same set of people have been manning the same posts in the most unimaginative manner. Some of them have stopped innovating because they have reached the ‘Peter’s Principle’ (risen to their level of incompetence) and cannot improve further.
The World Bank is known to keep its project partners on their toes. They will monitor the Project meticulously. Hence the CLLMP will need all the resources at the command of the C&RD Department. The Project requires institutional competence within the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA). I am not so sure that, that core competence is available. The problem with MBDA is that it is seen as a Government-led project. Hence the entire ambience is “Government” in nature. Projects require a different approach and working environment and different timelines. There is no hierarchy! Those working with people have to be on the field everyday and not just on some days. They must know the language of communication which is familiar to the community. Many Government officials are so used to talking down at people and blaming them for non-cooperation when they have not been able to demonstrate what the outcome of their participation in a project is. People will cooperate when they see benefits accruing. If it’s all blah… blah… blah… they switch off. There are, as it is, too many Government projects and competing loyalties. One more only adds to the woes of the community often derisively referred to as “beneficiaries.” Sorry, until people become stakeholders and own the World Bank Project we are unlikely to see outcomes. Period. And I am aghast that communities participating in government programmes should still be called ‘beneficiaries.’
Conrad Sangma has got the nuts and bolts right. He spoke of work plans from each department and said each minister will visit the districts, meets the public, meet officials and other stakeholders, not for finding fault but to enable a course correction in case programmes and policies are not implemented in the right spirit and there are handicaps to their fruition. The concept of ‘working together’ is a new one in Meghalaya and in government. Officers love to work in silos and to lord it over their departments. Hence collaboration is not part of government dictionary. The MBDA project sought in vain to bring this convergence but was caught between a hard place and a rock. One wonders if the MDA Government can shake up this system because convergence suits the people who are the key players in governance. Let people be reminded that governance without ‘people’ is simply a government. People’s participation is the sine qua non of governance.
Sometimes jargons and hi-falutin words borrowed from the development sector are sought to be implanted with flourish by those in government. Most people are not impressed. It is what we see in the field and the transformation of communities from recipients of government doles to active implementers who know book-keeping and are empowered enough to speak their minds, share their indigenous knowledge and tell the Government what it needs to know, which proves that a project is actually working. This is a giant step! It is easy to use words like ‘Community-led etc., etc., but are communities really allowed to lead? Those in Government believe they have a patent on all wisdom. That unfortunately is not the case. Let me ask the Horticulture Department one question. The Khasi Mandarin (orange) has been afflicted by disease and pests for several years now but growers are at pains to find a cure. The Department is promoting chemical pesticides but growers in Nongwar and other villages in East Khasi Hills refuse to use chemicals because they are aware that that bee population is on the decline due to several reasons but one of which is the use of chemical pesticides. Moreover, the people of Nongwar are also promoting a sacred grove nearby which they want to keep as natural as possible! So yes this is a challenge that the State Horticulture experts must be able to research and arrive at an answer soon. Growers are running out of patience because the previous government had been talking loudly about going organic while officials make deals with fertilizer and pesticide suppliers. Khasi mandarin is sold in Big Bazar, Delhi @ Rs 950 per kilogram.
One gathers from the pithy statements of the CM that he will not tolerate a “business as usual” attitude which is the enemy of governance. And since knowledge resides also in communities it is important for the MDA Government to constitute a think-tank where this “Community” can have its say. Let us remind ourselves that Government is only the facilitator. If Community owns a project/programme/scheme they will learn to be accountable and transparent in their dealings and produce results. This of course means an end to the rent-seeking regime.