The Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has revealed that the deployment of teachers in excess of norms in Government Primary Schools (GPS) and Government Middle Schools (GMS) and excess staff in the Civil Hospital Dimapur have led to extra expenditure of Rs. 5.03 crore in Nagaland. Not surprisingly, the School Education Department is reported as stating to the CAG that due to heavy pressure from the VVIP’s, the norms could not be followed to a great extent, which led to the excess expenditure. This excuse—referring to the discretionary power of politicians—can hardly be tenable because as the CAG report rightly pointed out, the staff engaged is in excess of the sanctioned posts.
It is pertinent to mention here that the very concept of a welfare State has not been observed in letter or in spirit. The huge funds or opportunities in the form of people’s welfare programs have created scope for corruption and abuse of power. The degeneration of political values has further compounded the problem. In today’s world, the end justifies the means. One of the major causes of corruption among politicians and bureaucrats (the so called VVIPs mentioned in the CAG report) has been the vast discretionary powers vested in them especially in relation to decision making on economic and development issues such as, their power to decide on pricing and costs of projects or issuing licenses for major undertakings and not to forget the bogus appointments taking place in a near regular basis. At the national level today we have independent commissions/authority such as on telecom, power etc. These statutory bodies can also be set up for Nagaland which should include members on the basis of their expertise and professional credentials. The advantages of such a mechanism are: ministers will no longer be required to take decisions on individual cases. Further such reports and decisions of such commissions can be published for allowing greater transparency in the system.
It should also not be forgotten that in a State like Nagaland with its limited resources, there is acute competition for the sharing of benefits which in turn creates an in-built impetus for corruption. Sociological factors like kinship and patron-client relationships further generate and reproduce corruption through networks of nepotism, patronage and dependency. Further, cultural practices such as the custom of gift giving with the expectation of reciprocal rewards, something which tends to spill over into the institutionalised administration as well.
The menace of corruption does not have any instant solution. It cannot be removed by a miracle or a gimmick. It demands societal intervention, a long struggle to cleanse the public life and of course some concrete legal and executive measures. Some measures that needs to be taken up include strengthening the vigilance body-law enforcing agencies and to give them autonomy so that they do not remain under government control. The main reason for this pathetic situation, when judged against the magnitude of corruption prevalent in public life, is the difficulties inherent in exposing and proving a corrupt deal.
The facts and figures based on the CAG report can hardly be disputed given that the CAG office controls the entire financial system of the country both at the Union as well as the State levels. The CAG is indeed the guardian of the public purse and it his duty to see that not a farthing is spent out of the Consolidated fund of India or of a State without the authority of the appropriate Legislature. It is therefore hardly surprising that the CAG report has been able to indict the financial transactions of the Nagaland State government and bring out the anomalies before the Assembly. Hopefully the State government would seriously consider where it needs to tighten its belt as far as wasteful expenditure is concerned.
The enactment of the Nagaland Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Bill 2005 by the DAN government during the recently concluded Monsoon Session of the Assembly should be seen as a welcome move. The Fiscal Responsibility Bill will hopefully become the cornerstone for a larger exercise in expenditure reform, which Nagaland now urgently requires. To carry out expenditure reform requires greater political will in cutting down on wasteful spending and populist measures. Also politicians must curb their instinct of wilfully using power without discretion.
