Expressbuzz.com, 15th April, 2009
By N.K. Panda
FOR the last two months, Orissa’s political scenario has witnessed many changes with scores of political leaders leaving one party and joining the other. Ironically, for identical reasons.
Leaders resigning today are getting tickets tomorrow from their new party.
On the other hand, the State Government and the Centre are busy in their favourite political game of blaming each other. The state has always been complaining of neglect. But funds are being returned to donor agencies including the Central Government, day in and day out. No government can release funds unless utilisation certificates are submitted. This basic truth is wellknown to the state as it applies to its own funds also. Besides, if money given to the donee is not wisely spent, the fruits of development will be eroded.
When Rajiv Gandhi in Kalahandi had mentioned that only 10 per cent of the total funds are being spent on people, he spoke the absolute truth. Rest of the money goes to the pockets of unscrupulous politicians, administrators and industrialists.
Corruption has been at its highest in the last few years. Never before did we have so many scams in such a short span of time.
Fake drugs, female foeticide, hooch tragedy, Kalinga Nagar issue, Posco, Khandamal riots are to name a few. Agricultural production has been negative in the state for many years despite the fact that agriculture is the main source of livelihood for many here.
Administrative efficiency is also at its lowest ebb. Though the present Government boasts of all-round development, the scene at the grass-roots is different due to rampant corruption and administrative inefficiency.
The UPA government, on the other hand, has several historic policies to its credit. Farmers subsidy, financial policies, roads development, industrial promotion, rural electrification, employment guarantee schemes and the Nuke deal are just a few among them. If the rural development schemes are properly implemented they would change the face of rural Orissa.
But corruption, poor delivery systems have let the State down.
The present government has to take responsibility for such failures.
Strangely, the State Government is claiming credit for these policies including the Rs 2-a-kg rice scheme.
UPA’s Urban Renewal Programme is the first of its kind since Independence. As far as the economic meltdown is concerned, only Congress can effectively counter it as it has all the top economists and past governors of the Reserve Bank of India in its ranks.
The RTI Act is perhaps the best gift of the UPA Government to the country.
An inquiry from the Ministry of Statistics under the RTI Act here and in Delhi have established the fact that so far special category status has been given to border states only for obvious reasons.
Orissa has not been so placed so the demand is unacceptable.
Questions under the RTI Act to the state and the Central Governments have revealed that there has been a marginal increase in per capita income in the last nine years of the present Government.
The growth in GDP over these nine years is about 15 per cent at 1999-2000 prices.
Besides, the figures regarding the BPL (Below Poverty Line)are contradictory. While the economic survey puts it around 40 per cent for rural and urban Orissa combined, the figures given to the Planning Commission for additional funds are much higher.
Since the past two decades, we have remained the poorest state in the country. In this decade from 2000 A.D till now, the economic progress is poor compared to the all India performance.
Power corrupts and long term power corrupts comprehensively.
Independent advice is looked down upon and is considered anti - government.
In an underdeveloped society, where the needs of the stomach overwhelm all the norms and where the difference between being in power and out of power is as between heaven and hell, society and its people should always change the government every five years as is often done in some countries and states of India.
A Third perspective is also in order. As it appears, the Congress and its changing allies will have a marginal edge over the NDA and the so-called Third Front. Orissa has suffered a lot as different parties ruled the state and the Centre. And it’s only the voters who have a solution to this.
-- The writer is former chief secretary of Orissa
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