Editor,
Your Friday column on good governance (ST Sept 25, 2020), has provoked me to dwell on the term “good governance”. Some years ago, “India Today” magazine in a national survey had put Meghalaya at the bottom of the list of small states in matters of good governance. The then Chief Minister DD Lapang was left wondering why Meghalaya which was then a peaceful state should get such poor rating. There was not much public debate on the issue. And the matter was soon brushed under the carpet.
Now that you have tickled the issue of good governance again, I am tempted to expatiate what constitutes good governance. Let me enunciate 10 top criteria to judge good governance: 1. Rule of law. 2. Transparency 3. Accountability 4. Best use of resources ( human, financial, technological, natural, environmental) 5. Responsiveness 6. Consensus oriented 7. Equity and inclusiveness 8. Effectiveness and efficiency 9. Participation and 10. Addressing interests of the stakeholders.
Let’s us now look at each of the ten criteria vis-a-vis Meghalaya.
1. Rule of law is something that will embarrass our leaders, unless they are thick skinned and brazen. Since the birth of Meghalaya how murderers, looters and all kinds violators of law have not been brought to justice is a design and not an accident. It’s an undeniable fact that criminal justice system has completely collapsed. Nobody wants to go by the law, only expediency matters in this state.
- Transparency is fine as long as it relates to others. Government after government has been guilty of lacking transparency in their decision making process. There’s so much of opacity that we have become used to it. That the present government haughtily declined to share an innocuous report of enquiry on a government hospital’s refusal to admit a pregnant woman which led to the death of her child speaks volumes about the lack of transparency.
- Accountability is what every arm of the Government is expected to demonstrate. But with the exception of the judiciary which manages to extract some response from the executive, the legislature has failed to pin down the government because the legislators’ interests lie elsewhere! The media is too docile and seldom raises incisive questions that could floor the government. But knowing the media today (as everywhere in India), it has become a lap dog and not a watch dog.
- Best use of resources: How the meagre financial resources at the disposal of the government are being manipulated is visible to all. So many scams have surfaced since Meghalaya came into being. Now, after 50 years, scams have become an acceptable way of life here. How our environment is being devastated, how forest cover is being lost (until apex court put a ban), how coal extraction is a systemic failure abetted by politicos; how best human resources are being sacrificed in acute form of nepotism. The list is unending.
- Responsiveness: Does our political class show any responsiveness? Do they have genuine concern for the citizens? Or do they only take care of their vote banks? Public grievances are simply ignored. You have to be a bully or muscle your way to be heard and for government to act.
- Consensus oriented governance is unheard of in Meghalaya. It is my way or the highway. Look at how the Barik project has been playing out. Despite public outcry, the government of the day is going ahead with a “balanced” approach between commerce and environment. Why couldn’t the government hold a public debate or consult opinion makers and social leaders? Will anybody answer?
- Equity and inclusiveness: This is an area of skating on thin ice. An honest question: Does the government treat every citizen equally? Are the policies of the government “inclusive”? Do all government programmes include all sections? We have to be brutally frank to give an honest answer to these posers.
- Effectiveness and efficiency: Has the governance system been effective and efficient? It is for all to see the net result of several lakh crore of rupees spent on improving the living conditions of the people over the past five decades. Where has the money gone? If we take only the realm of education, health care and potable water, it will be seen that the state has achieved little. NEHU, NEIGRIHMS, IIM, IIHM, NIT etc are all central government projects. Barring the private institutions, no educational institution or hospital worth the name has been created by Meghalaya government. The state’s track record in this regard is abysmal.
- Participation: People’s participation in building Meghalaya is next to nothing. Who cares for Meghalaya? It’s everybody is for himself. People vote once in five years and then the chosen ones rule the roost.
- Stakeholders’ interests: This is served, only if they are on the right side of the dividing line. What are the interests of the common man? They want ease of living. Are people of Meghalaya, barring the privileged lot (creamy layer) allowed to have a stake in governance? The hoi polloi either have limited aspirations or seldom share their agonies. In any case, their basic interests remain unaddressed.
I leave it to the readers to pass their value judgment on Meghalaya’s governance report card. I am not giving them more than 20 marks out of a possible 100!
Yours etc.,
DS Singh,
Via email
II
Editor,
Your byline article “Governance: When state is not a corporate entity”(ST Sept 25, 2020) provides plenty of food for thought. However, I am not interested in passing a judgment on the performance or the lack of it of the present government headed by Conrad Sangma, a “generation next” leader of Meghalaya.Yes, he is well educated, articulate and suave. As the son of the redoubtable Purno Sangma it adds to the general expectations about him as the chief minister. Whether he will deliver or not, only time will tell.
To be fair to him, his tenure has been rocked first by protracted public agitations and later by COVID pandemic. Perhaps it is unfair to pass judgment on his government at this stage. I also realise that he has inherited a system that is hardly conducive to good governance. The constant political blackmailing by the MLAs and political parties to meet their insatiable demands for the goodies doesn’t help Conrad Sangma. Moreover, he has the onerous task of establishing the NPP as a national party. All things put together, it is understandable that he is unable to give the best performance. I for one would like to give him one full term of five years for proving himself. Until then, let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Yours etc.
Shemphang Diengdoh,
Via email