Service that citizens deserve

by vinod vyasulu

As citizens of a free India, all of us are entitled to some basic amenities. We elect governments so that we can avail of those. Our Constitution begins by proclaiming that we are “a democratic...socialist ...republic”. The Constitution was promulgated in 1952. The word socialist was inserted by the 42nd Constitutional amendment in 1976. Our nation state had taken on a great responsibility.
How has it met this responsibility? Is it fair to ask this question in 2011, or is it too early? Even if the time for judgement has not yet come, there is no harm in an informal stocktaking exercise. The responsibilities of governance are divided in our federal set up. The Union of India is responsible for subjects such as defence and external affairs, among others. It spends a lot of money on defence. I only hope we get a fair amount of security for every rupee we spend on it.
People feel that the Centre is more effective than the states. Let us consider the process of issuance of passports for which the ministry of external affairs (MEA) is responsible. Recently, to ensure efficient disbursal and to become citizen-friendly, the process has been geared to be completed though a public-private partnership (PPP), with Tata Consulting Services taking the responsibility of receiving applications. A citizen makes an appointment Online. After a three-week wait, she personally submits all the documents required. She queues up to show MEA officials at the Passport Seva Kendra her school leaving certificate and degree certificates, wherever applicable. After a check, the data is uploaded. The old passport, if she has one, is then sent to another counter where after due examination, it is cancelled. The new passport is then sent to the applicant by post in a few weeks. When the passport comes, the citizen finds “Emigration Clearance Required (ECR)” stamped on one of the pages. This ECR stamp is not required for some countries such as the USA but necessary to visit others. Since our citizen is a graduate who had shown her original certificates to the passport officials at the time getting them vetted, this stamp should not have been put on her passport. The applicant wants this error corrected but finds out there is no way of approaching the Passport Office, only unnamed officials at the Passport Seva Kendra, where she can get an appointment only after two months, but she has to travel in a week. At the airport, immigration officials see the stamp and object to her travelling. She produces the necessary documents and points out the mistake made by the Passport Office. But the officials are unmoved; she is not permitted to travel period. For an error committed by a government servant ~ in a PPP arrangement ~ a citizen has been seriously inconvenienced. But that’s all right.
Education ~ at least basic schooling ~ and health care are two other benefits the state provides. While these are supposed to be free, in fact nothing gets done without bribes. The citizen has to pay up (in Karnataka, it is known as gimbla) and the government servant pockets it. Then there are other services for which the government will charge on a per-use basis.
Electricity that we consume at our homes is one example. Here, the rate we are charged is a progressive one. For the first set of units consumed, the rate is set low, at, say, Rs 2.10 per unit. After, say, 50 units at this rate, the next 100 are charged at Rs 3 per unit. This is followed by another 100 units at Rs 4 per unit. Beyond this level of consumption, the charge is Rs 5 per unit. Meters ensure that the consumption per month is measured accurately.
But how does this work in practice? Since we have dispensed with the option of remote meter reading ~ as in telephones ~ there is a government servant who goes to each house to read the meter. And, this government servant is protected by Article 311 of the Constitution. After the level of consumption is noted, a Bill is generated and sent to the subscriber for due payment. But what if the government servant forgets to read the meter in a given month? When he arrives the next month or the next quarter, whichever is convenient to him, to read the meter, the current system of pricing ensures that an inflated bill is generated. The number of units charged at the lower rate is constant. If the bill is read each month, the consumer pays less. When it is read at the will of the government servant, say, once in every two months, the consumer ends up footing a much bigger bill. The government maximises revenue, and we all know that maximisation is for the general good. What should a citizen take recourse to then? Nothing. Because there is really no reason to.
Consider the other ways in which citizens are inconvenienced. When the Metro was being built in Kolkata, the city’s traffic system practically disintegrated. What Kolkata does today, India must do tomorrow. The mess is now being replicated in Bangalore. Digging brings great joy to government servants. Trees are cheerfully cut. That done, there are water and sewage lines to be moved around. This takes a few months. Then the realisation dawns that the particular road that the government covets is not wide enough and so land must be acquired by eating into houses and shops lining it. With a little bit of planning ahead, all this could have been avoided. But why minimise inconvenience to the citizen? The hapless citizen has to part with the land the government has set its eyes upon, even if it means demolishing a wall here or there. What recourse does a citizen have? Effectively none, because, obviously, everything is done for her welfare.
Power supply is erratic in all of our cities. This has led to the growth of the uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems industry. This is a unique industry that exists only in India ~ in other countries, where grid power is reliable, there is no need for a UPS systems. If the government is seriously considering generating more power or improving its distribution, this industry stands to lose. Jobs will be lost and the unemployed of this country need them desperately. The government, when it is not thinking up the next scheme for inconveniencing people, should ensure that there is power cut for at least two hours every day, if nothing, as a socialist measure. Speaking of UPS manufacturers, how can one forget the candle makers? If power vanishes for long hours every evening, not only the UPS manufacturers will be happy but also the poor candle makers with whom they share a camaraderie suffused with corporate social responsibility. Power cuts should stay as a matter of policy. What should a citizen do? Feel happy that the hours of darkness that she endures actually lights up the lives of some.
Perhaps the time has come to acknowledge that the government servant only makes things as much difficult for citizens as possible because it will cultivate fortitude in citizens, and strengthen their moral fibre. Out of adversity comes wisdom, and our country desperately needs that too.
Perhaps we misunderstand a government servants. In fact, we should marvel at the efficiency with which they coordinate excavation of roads. To our disbelieving eyes, the maze of one mangled road after another may not constitute more than the mundane. But there is more to it. The incredible proficiency, for example, which pulls off such supreme display of disorder day after day.
It is important that we stop criticising government servants unnecessarily and give them the support they need to work without fear or favour. We are pernickety and they are the true heroes. Let us give them their due!

Vinod Vyasulu is a consulting economist
source;statesman