SO, IT should be clear that good governance is an ideal which is difficult to achieve in its totality. Very few countries and societies have come close to achieving it. However, to ensure sustainable human development, actions must be taken to work towards this ideal with the aim of making it a reality.
Coming to the main focus of this series of articles, there are several reasons why India has had a poor governance. These can be directly juxtaposed with the various factors or elements which make up this scarce resource.
The first factor to be considered here is the participation of the public. In India, there is no governing elite or a ruling establishment, resulting in no renewal of human capital in politics. Good governance is a buzz word across India, but the capacity to provide it has virtually collapsed. The nature of the electoral system, has accentuated fragmentation and led to marginalisation of national parties in several areas.
It has also added to the fundamental flaws in the very structure of governance. There is no dearth of examples to show that the age-old princedom, abolished in the fifties, has come to the forefront in politics. The truth is that this should not be there. Why should a politician’s son, brother or any other relation be pulled into the political arena, when he or she does not have any worthwhile capabilities to live up to the responsibilities.
Secondly, the system is not consensus oriented: The adversarial nature of public debate and lack of institutionalised forums to sustain a consensus on national issues, has deteriorated the system. Decisions taken by the ruling party, do not keep in view the overall needs and requirements of the people.
Thirdly, the government and its major role players (political entrepreneurs and the administrators), ought to be fully accountable to the country, both in context of plan and non-plan expenditure. However, this is not seen in India. No one knows where exactly the tax payers’ money goes. There have been many cases where, the benefits announced by the government for the poorer sections of the society, never reach them.
The only way to achieve this is by fixing responsibility and accountability, from the top. The first step in good governance in the centre and states have to come from the top levels of the administration; posting of right officers at right places, giving them the freedom to act as per the law of the land, making their responsibility clear and then formally holding them accountable for what happens in their respective areas.
Further, there is an absence of transparency in the entire bureaucratic setup, which leads to an almost legitimised system of financing via corruption and rent seeking and a directly unproductive profit-seeking activities.
Moreover, the lack of a separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary, has led to virtual paralysis of the executive and the emasculation of the legislative pillar of democracy, has added to the inefficiency and ineffective governance. The complete dysfunctionality of the administrative apparatus, has no incentives for performance and penalty for failure has also aggravated the situation.
Meanwhile, the total collapse of the fiscal system at the centre and in the states, has severely eroded any capacity to provide public goods and services to the people. Due to non friendly barriers, the benefits of growth, do not trickle down to the general masses. The governance so, is fully exclusive and not inclusive.
Lastly, in the case of India, the judiciary is an independent body and is separate from the executive and legislative bodies of the government. Stratified into various levels, it has the Supreme Court at its apex, followed by High courts and district courts at the district level and Lok Adalats at the village and Panchayat level. Still, the system is largely oriented towards the needs of the rich and is uncaring towards the poor. Property and not human rights, are at the core of its agenda.
Therefore, fundamental social change can only be brought through social movements. And, the first area of focus for these should be those poor people who have no access to legal assistance. Poverty fosters frustration, ill feeling and a brooding sense of injustice. A democracy in spirit, should realise that this problem cannot be successfully met unless, law is used wisely to restore balance to the economic structure and to remove the causes of economic inequality and justice is accessible to all.
