Patricia Mukhim
This article is not an indictment on the Conrad Sangma led MDA Government which has been in power for just over a year. Politicians don’t drive governments; bureaucrats do! Politicians are reshuffled every five years but the bureaucracy carries on with unbridled powers to halt development. This entrenched bureaucracy by its very permanence becomes a bottleneck to development. Listening to the woes of an upcoming entrepreneur in Meghalaya is heart-breaking. Just to renew a manufacturing license, the entrepreneur has to run from pillar to post and keep knocking at the doors of the Industries and Commerce Department which apparently seems to be populated by babus that do not know the process of processing such licenses! What a travesty! And there was the Chief Minister just a few days ago launching the MeghaMart website for online marketing of products not just from the state but from the entire region. That was uplifting news until one hears what entrepreneurs have to go through even when exporting stuff to Bangladesh via Dawki. The number of roadblocks between Shillong and Dawki make the export business very precarious. By the time the perishables reach their destinations they have turned putrid. Is this what a state that aspires to ride the bandwagon of the Act East Policy does? Is the Chief Minister even aware of these predicaments faced by our entrepreneurs?
We thought that the Single Window Agency was created to cut down on time taken by different departments to decide on a single issue. But whatever has happened to this Agency? Earlier it was headed by the CM. Not sure who is heading it now. Red tape in the Indian bureaucracy is legendary. But for an industrialist, that red tape is toxic because time is money. Bureaucrats don’t understand that because they are paid despite their non-performance and the façade of “being busy.” A client in another country orders for certain products but if it takes too long for the producer here to get his manufacturing license or to have it renewed by the Industries Department, then that foreign client who operates in an entirely different business eco-system and insists on timely delivery of products would rather cancel the deal. And this is actually happening with manufacturers in Meghalaya! This is just one of the problems. There are many others. I wish the Chief Minister gives a patient hearing to these young entrepreneurs before they throw up their hands in disgust! Also first generation entrepreneurs are not in a position to bribe their way through. They prefer to do clean business; not to make deals!
Those who have had a tryst with the bureaucracy know exactly how frustrating it is to deal with them. In fact they believe in confounding you to the point of exasperation. One thing that the bureaucrat will throw on your face is the rule book. But that rule book is kept aside when the greedy palm is greased. The rules are such an easy alibi. And there are innumerable rules all entangled and impenetrable. If you want to see the cold, distant, unconcerned, inhuman face of the state, then think bureaucracy! This is a cohort (with some honourable exceptions) that attaches a lot of unnecessary self-importance to itself. They can look without seeing and listen without hearing and like someone has rightly quipped, “They proclaim decisions that can change people’s lives with the indifference of a butcher slicing a piece of steak.” Bureaucrats thrive in ambiguity and avoid giving their independent judgment even when they know full well that a decision is crucial to someone’s well –being.
Now let me come to another issue that has been hanging fire in this state for a long time now. Bureaucrats would have us believe that the decision is pending because it is a hot potato. That is a decision concerning minority institutions. Article 30 of the Constitution mandates the setting up of minority institutions for which purpose the National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions (NCMEI) Act, 2004 was enacted. Under this Act certain provisions are laid down for the establishment and administration of minority educational institutions. While some Christian institutions have already been given minority status in Meghalaya others have not been accorded that for reasons best known to the Government. This despite enlightened rulings by the Supreme Court from time to time. It appears that the Social Welfare Department has to list out the institutions deserving of that status and notify that. But fearing that there may be some kind of political backlash, governments in the past have decided to keep this matter in the freezer.
Samples of some Supreme Court decisions in the matter of according minority status to an institution are cited here. In Andhra Pradesh Christian Medical Association vs. Government of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1986 SC 1490, the Supreme Court held that the Government, the University and ultimately the Court can go behind the claim that the institution in question is a minority institution and “to investigate and satisfy itself whether the claim is well founded or ill founded.” A minority educational institution continues to be so whether the Government declares it as such or not. When the Government declares an educational institution as a minority institution, it merely recognizes a factual position that the institution was established and is being administered by a minority community. The declaration is merely an open acceptance of the legal character of the institution which must necessarily have existed antecedent to such declaration (N. Ammad vs. Emjay High School (1998) 6 SCC 674). A Society or Trust consisting of members of a minority community, or even a single member of a minority community, may establish an institution.
This position has been clarified by the Supreme Court in State of Kerala vs. Mother Provincial AIR 1970 SC 2079, where it was observed that “Establishment means bringing into being of an institution and it must be by a minority community. It matters not if a single philanthropic individual with his own means starts an institution or the community at large founds the institution or the community at large contributes the funds. The position in law is the same and the intention in either case must be to found an institution for the benefit of a minority community by a member of that community. It is equally irrelevant to this right that in addition to the minority community, others from other minority communities or even from the majority community can take advantage of these institutions.”
In the light of this and other decisions it is high time that the Government of Meghalaya gives an impartial treatment to all institutions deserving of minority status and not sit on this issue, ostensibly for political reasons, before someone approaches the court of law for redressal.
Another matter that is of concern is that even universities set up by the State of Meghalaya find it so difficult to get clearance for purchase of land to set up a permanent campus. While the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) repeatedly marks institutions negatively for not having their own campuses, when the institutions do try to acquire the necessary land for creating necessary infrastructure the Government (Revenue Dept) itself sets up several hurdles. This is halting the progress of education in Meghalaya. But why would bureaucrats bother? Their children are all educated in premier schools, colleges and universities outside Meghalaya and many of them abroad. Hence they have this dog in the manger attitude when it comes to institutions in their state. It almost appears as if the Khasi Thlen is out to devour its own.
The Education Minister of Meghalaya should learn to override silly bureaucratic decisions. He has to inform himself from other sources as well and not rely on an abstruse, rule-bound, insensitive bureaucracy. The reason why so many people approach the courts is precisely because the bureaucracy has become the enemy of the people.
I would, however, add a rider here. There are bureaucrats and there are bureaucrats. Not all fit the mould above: some are, in fact, progressive but they are too few to make a difference.