Dimapur, September 22 (MExN): The Rising People’s Party (RPP) on Wednesday stated that it would implement ‘lateral entry’ of Naga women into the bureaucracy to bring about good governance and address the dearth of women in policy making bodies, if it comes into power.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the RPP noted that while Nagaland has produced many distinguished women, “there has been an absolute dearth of women in policy making bodies at the top.” As an example, it pointed out that the Nagaland Village Council Act envisions women constituting 25% of the VDB membership; however, this statutory obligation is rarely fulfilled. “If at all women constitute membership in the VDBs, they are mostly reduced to serving chais (tea) and biscuits during meetings,” it claimed.
‘Lateral entry’ pertains to the appointment of specialists from private sector in government organisations to bring in fresh talent into the bureaucracy.
To make its case, the RPP stated that women constitute almost half of the state’s population “but their presence is almost nil in gender equity and policy making discourses.” Terming it as “historical aberrations which need to be rectified with hard decisions,” the party asserted that “Lateral entry is one such hard decision which the RPP is willing to implement if it comes to power.”
Terming it as “the need of the hour,” the RPP said it would only consider women for lateral entry for which suitable amendment will be made in the NPSC, while adding that having the required number of women at sensitive positions at the middle and senior level of the bureaucracy would also lessen the impact of endemic corruption in the state. “Corruption-free governance and good governance is invariably related to women empowerment as well,” it added.
Making a reference to the UPSC’s move to invite applications from “talented and motivated Indian nationals willing to contribute towards nation building” for lateral entry into the government, the RPP stated that the whole purpose of lateral entry is to bring in domain experts who can take the concerned departments/Ministry a step ahead given their years of experience in their respective fields. The exercise would be “undiluted by the ‘quota’ clamour” and people who are noted in their areas of expertise, such as academicians, financial experts, economists, community enablers, captains of Industry with IIT/MBA backgrounds, educationists, etc., would be considered.
In the case of the UPSC which made the move 2 years after the Modi government launched the ambitious scheme, the RPP pointed out that the contract for lateral entrants would be for a period of three years and the posts were “unreserved”—there would be no quotas for SCs, STs and OBCs. The lateral entrants were required to have 15 years of experience for the position of joint secretaries, and 10 years for the position of directors.
Stating that most lateral entry points were Joint Secretary-level with pay and pensions at par with direct recruits, the RPP stated that women entrants would be tasked with taking care of critical departments such as Health & Family Welfare, Social Welfare Department, Education, Agriculture and allied departments, Tribal affairs, etc. “In the light of NITI Aayog’s assessment or failed report card for the state, it’s direly important that women hold senior positions where critical policy decisions are conjured and implemented,” it maintained.
Apart from lateral entry, the RPP envisaged entry of women in constitutional and statutory bodies, which it said, would bring the much needed balance in the system and dynamism in governance. Quoting UN Women’s research on panchayats in India, it underscored that “Women’s representation in local governments has made a difference,” and the research discovered that the number of drinking water projects in areas with female-led councils was 62 per cent higher than in those with male-led councils. By bringing in lateral entry for women, the RPP will be giving thrust to women empowerment and good governance at the same time, it maintained.
