NOW AFTER ANNA AND RAMDEV, CAG DILUTES ITS REAL VALUE

 AFTER ANNA AND RAMDEV, 

CAG  DILUTES ITS OWN REAL 

VALUE

 

TEJINDER NARANG

Anna Hazare after unleashing his two years campaign against Government for immediate creation and enforcement of Lok Pal bill has felt that political party is the best alternative to pursue his agenda. Meanwhile Anna’s movement has now less takers than before because stakeholders are realizing that unless reforms in electoral funding and procedural wrangles for getting the job done from a public form are simplified, this bill have a limited relevance.   Voters of Uttar Pradesh   and Andhra Pradesh, despite Anna’s high pitched anti-corruption crusade  voted  for those who have poor public record and even now suggesting “stealing”. Verily, verily-- idealism and societal behaviour are demonstrating divergence.

Baba Ramdev, while crusading anti-black money as a national issue has openly sought helping hand of opposition parties and appears to be used by them for political gains. His second gathering at Delhi was reality show of his political populism than the content per se.

CROMPTOLLER GENERAL OF INDIA--- CAG ‘s streaming reports on 2 G, Pulses, Coalgate, DIAL and others are  premised that if Governments earn revenues then it is a blessing while private ownership in the hands of select ones is a national curse and corruption. CAG views represent extremism and not a balanced view.

People have to introspect whether Government is the judicious or faulty spender of funds available in National exchequer and then resolve on the righteousness of Auditor’s views. Frankly, Governments all over the world, by virtue of their political agendas are never the sensible spenders of resources available at their command. By looking through the prism of auditors, the entire  subsidization program of the Government for grain and fertilizer procurement and distribution is flawed and an intentional loss to the national exchequer has arisen over last 50 years. Even the proposed National Food Security Bill needs to be rejected forthwith if subsidization by the Government is considered an outright loss. Billion of dollars and “lakhs crores” of rupees are disbursed for defense procurements with commissions pocketed by power brokers out of Central funds where even tenders are invited. Air India has been beneficiary of dole out for rescuing it from eternal redemption, while inefficiency  and indiscipline continues.  Therefore accretion of funds with sole power of spending at the hands of the rulers cannot be deemed pinnacle of virtuosity.  On the contrary, CAG stresses that direct generation of funds for National exchequers should be the overriding priority irrespective of welfare, services and national security to the citizens of the country.  Fortunately we have system of direct and indirect taxation and therefore what is lost directly can be compensated indirectly when the society is served.

BUT, Government as a governing institution has to take decisions to address the issues on short term or long term. Its right to govern must be respected to avoid the chaotic future. Surely all decision may not be perfect and with the passage of time their reasonableness or logic may have grown less relevant. They need to be modified.  It will be very difficult for CAG to understand the options / predicament / compulsions of governance on the day these decisions were taken as reconstruction of that scenario in future is well-nigh impossibility. If opinion of national auditors is going to set the national agenda, then pre audit may be required from CAG before implementing any new policy or pre vigilance may be mandated.  That means the policy making even at the level of Planning Commission will come to a screeching halt because any comments by auditors and vigilance will mean reworking of the entire thought process. No real work will be done on ground.  

If ruling elite concentrate all National assets at its command without engaging the entrepreneurial spirit within the society, it will be socialism of Soviet era that has miserably failed. Ad hoc strategies are the rule in China whose GDP India intends to emulate. Auction or tendering procedures that are considered sacrosanct may be grossly deficient in many respects though it gives an illusion of transparency. Pre-qualification criteria for the bidders can be structured and bid documents can impose certain techno commercial conditions that can support some and reject others. In market economy the price of all assets, services and commodities vary on minute to minute basis.

Markets  can never be audited or auditable, nor can absolute values be assigned to them on prospective basis. Presumptuous audit defies real time and circumstantial evaluation. Audit can be a good guiding factor for future decision making but cannot be determining ingredient to cast suspicion on the broader integrity of governance.

CAG by dishing out loss reports of “lakhs and crores” is seen with lesser honesty of purpose at all levels in business, bureaucracy, PSUs and within the Government. It has also added to the “policy paralysis”. Loss of” lakhs of crores” rupees has become a new norm for CAG. It is nevertheless giving indirect recognition to the fact that all decisions of the Governments are not wrong. It is diminishing its own institutional integrity rather than that of the Government. Like Anna and Ram Dev, people will be able to decipher that CAG’s report do not reflect the Reality but a perception of some sorts.