Economic Times has invited its readers to state what their dream for the state would be. My response was that I dream of a state with the babudom reduced to such an extent that half of Vidhan Soudha (and, of course, the entire Vikas Soudha) itself gets rented out.
Mr Benjamin Disraeli, a former British Prime Minister, had very correctly stated that "there can be economy where there is efficiency".
Even as the Karnataka government seems to have made up its mind on getting totally out of manufacturing activities, it is seen to be doing very little by way of reducing its own gargantuan size. As of today, the entire government work can be done far more efficiently and effectively by less than a tenth of the existing work force if it withdraws from areas it doesn't need to be in, and by going in for large-scale out-sourcing, retaining the services of a select few who can then be paid well.
In fact, the government would do well to target totally vacating the MS buildings, the Vikas Soudha, and even half the Vidhan Soudha itself, and in the process, generate revenue for itself by renting out these premises.
The employees rendered surplus can be given the Golden handshake or even a Platinum one. If they don’t accept it, daily attendance melas can be organised in four different corners of the city and salaries paid to them at the end of the month. As long as they are kept away from office, their potential for harm reduces considerably, and the state will be the overall gainer even with having to pay for no work done at all. With the loaves of office no longer available, they will eventually tire out and quit.
Though such a step can be viewed as harsh, it should be realised that every non-productive government job is today coming in the way of creation of atleast ten times as many jobs in the private sector in newer and newer areas. As such, nobody need shed tears for the government babu any more.
The politicians should realise that privatisation, outsourcing, etc are no longer dirty words in the minds of the public. On the contrary, they have gained considerable acceptance since they are clearly seen to improve efficiency, and are in fact becoming very populist concepts.
The slogan for the states now may as well be ‘privatise, outsource and prosper’.
Muralidhar Rao
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Do we need an election and Government
government is the problem!
"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." In has been 27 years since former US President Ronald Reagan spoke these words during his first inaugural address. And in that time, large parts of the democratic world have undergone a great transformation in how citizens view government. So much so that in many countries, even left-leaning political parties today articulate a less state-led view of the world than in the past. And, despite a few hiccups, this streak appears set to continue for a while. In
India, on the other hand, 'less government' is not really about 'more freedom'; that equation doesn't have rational roots in Indian realities. Instead, the articulation here feeds off public despair at governments that haven't delivered even in critical and essential areas such as 'equality before law' and 'public goods'. The resulting angst has almost always led people to seek alternative ways of provisioning public goods and services, for everything except the legislature and the justice system itself.
The real shake-up will come when a political party - not necessarily a new one - decides it is opportune to question the very size and role of government, and make that challenge the core of its quest for power. Certainly, if the right conditions for a 'small government' party were to emerge, there will be someone to wear that mantle politically, a la-Reagan or Thatcher for our reality. Such a party might even do quite well at the hustings. The inability of the larger political parties to break with their traditional ways of gaining power and governing has left voids to be occupied. A small party with a focus on, say, urban government only, could easily claim a clear position for itself intent on limiting the size of government in specific ways for specific goals.
For the full text, click on: http://www.indiatogether.org/2008/aug/edt-lessgov.htm
Muralidhar Rao