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.
