Showkat Ahmad
Corruption and red-tape are the biggest hurdles to the development of various states in India, especially J&K, where the state of political affairs makes the situation grimmer. Lack of transparency in government affairs and cumbersome official procedures hamper development and kill initiatives that could help lift a state out of perpetual backwardness. Even well conceived developmental plans lose their significance when caught in bureaucratic mire.
Governments, in contemporary times, are supposed to bring in efficiency in the delivery mechanism of services so that amenities reach the people. Lack of transparency breeds corruption, which in turn leads to disaffection among the masses.
The uprising in Tunisia and Eygpt are the latest examples as brewing discontent among the masses in places where governments are not open and transparency absent.
The discontent that has its roots in corruption and stifling bureaucratic procedures, exploded on the streets with millions pouring out of their homes to express their resentment over the system. There have been somewhat similar instances in other places in the world. In India a full fledged armed insurgency is drawing its support from masses in the name of fighting exploitation and corruption.
The main reason behind Maoists running their writ in more than 200 districts of many states in eastern and southern India. Reportedly, many government schemes mostly targeted at poverty alleviation like MGNREGA are seeing better implementation in Maoist strongholds earning the rebels more popular support.
In J&K, popular resentment and anger, even the chief minister acknowledges, is over an issue that has nothing to do with the system of governance or any democratic exercise. That in no way means that the corruption in the state is not a big menace. J&K had the unfortunate status of being the most or the second most corrupt state in India. It has always, at least in the four decades, been juggling between the number two and top spot in the corruption list.
Corruption at levels has almost become an accepted norm in the society and government officials indulge in corrupt practices shamelessly without the fear of any social chastisement. A society that sees corruption as a normal, routine thing surely, has reached an advanced stage of the menace.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been making right noises about the menace of corruption and makes regular statements about tackling it. Omar Abdullah claims to be a clean executive. He sued two opposition PDP leaders for making allegation that he had received kickbacks in a power project. It is good if the executive is clean but when even the ministers in his cabinet have been accused of corruption and embezzlement, a failure to take action has not gained him credibility.
Though his latest ‘directions’ to the State Vigilance organisation to go after corrupt middle rung officers in the state is a good step, a state mired in corruption needs a much stronger approach to weed out the menace. A top down approach would be a good idea, and having upright ministers in the Cabinet, would send the right signals to all officials including the minnows who the government says are involved in ‘coercive corruption’.
