The Governor of Nagaland in a much needed initiative has reviewed the implementation of Projects under Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR). Such practice of evaluating projects, though rare in Nagaland, will help a great deal in ensuring transparency and accountability in the development process, which is the need of the hour. It has been the experience in Nagaland that development programmes and the money that comes with it are prone to misuse. It is the same when it comes to job recruitment. Only a few vacancies are advertised while the rest are distributed according to the whims and fancies of the few and powerful. It is a fact that on many occasions the public are not even aware of schemes or funds meant for development and such information which otherwise should be properly publicized have been concealed from public eye. Therefore the need to facilitate better access to information is the need of the hour. To begin with, all such development programmes or job vacancies as the case may be, needs to be properly highlighted to the public. The Governor can do a big favour for the public welfare if he can direct the various departments to properly inform, educate and communicate on the development programmes meant for the people. Such information should not remain the preserve of only a few beneficiaries. If corruption and nepotism must go then this cloak of secrecy must be removed from the system. Only then can we expect development to percolate and spread to all segments.
Given that the public remains poorly informed about the different development projects going on in the State, for the media as well, it was enlightening to learn that under the NLCPR, a total of 30 Projects are being implemented by the State Government Departments at a cost of Rs. 474.00 crores out of which Rs. 269.00 crores has already been released. The other information worth taking note of is that the Border Roads Organization (BRO) is implementing 10 Projects at a cost of Rs.118.00 crores out of which Rs. 99.00 crores has already been released by the Government of India. All this will hopefully allow the public to scrutinize and also verify on the works being undertaken in their respective districts, towns or villages. Public knowledge and their participation in the development process will to a great deal help in removing corruption from the system and also ensure greater accountability in implementation.
It will be only appropriate to mention here that announcing and undertaking several development programs will mean nothing for the development graph of the State if the government does not show the commitment and purpose to ensure its effective implementation on the ground. The sustainable growth of the local economy will depend considerably on implementation and not so much on the program itself. Monitoring the performance of programs is therefore extremely important and whichever government comes in next should seriously consider having a separate program implementation ministry/cell like the one at the Centre. The aim is to improve the delivery of services while ensuring timely completion of projects and proper utilization of funds. However, putting in place a transparent and honest monitoring system requires political will and honest leadership—both rare commodities but nevertheless essential towards meeting our development objectives.
