Superstition Or Superscience?
Amid accusations of having saffronised higher education of the country, the Centre approves the teaching of astrology in universities.
Is the Government promoting a
science or a sham?

Science Or Sham?
Even as stargazers claim their knowledge has an empirical basis, scientists debunk it as mumbo-jumbo.

PM's Point Man
Sidelined two years ago, he has bounced back to become one of the most powerful ministers in the NDA.

Diverging Tracks
The Gormu-Lhasa railway line will significantly improve China's military logistics capability and exert strategic pressure on India.

Plane Pique
The Gujarat Government resents the CAG indictment for the purchase of an aircraft.

VIEWPOINT: FIFTH COLUMN

Rip Van Vajpayee

Does the prime minister realise that most of his policies are gathering dust?

It has been a long time since anything good was said of the prime minister in this column, so let me begin with a few words of praise. A few weeks ago, I wrote about street vendors and how they continue to be victims of an evil version of the licence raj. I mentioned that in violation of Supreme Court orders on the right to livelihood the Delhi Government had made licences so difficult to obtain that most of the city's five lakh street vendors were unlicensed, thereby at the mercy of policemen and officials running an extortion racket which, according to a study by Manushi magazine, resulted in Rs 50 crore a month being collected in bribes. The PMO took note of this article and last week I received a copy of a letter written by the prime minister to Delhi's lieutenant-governor ordering him to take action. "It is clear that a genuine policy reform is called for in the present licensing system for hawkers and cycle rickshaws," the letter said, adding, "The policy reform must seek to eliminate the scope for rent seeking and harassment by licensing and enforcement officials."

The prime minister deserves praise for this intervention. Particularly because it affects the livelihood of the poorest of our entrepreneurs, people so desperate that they are forced to make their meagre living in the streets. So, well done Mr Vajpayee, well done indeed.

If it were possible to fill this entire piece with words of praise I would unstintingly do so. Alas, I cannot because what is needed are many more such interventions if we are to see the leadership that is so desperately needed from the prime minister. Intervene, for instance, in the building of infrastructure and roads will suddenly materialise, railways will become safe and ports will stop being seen as antiquities. We might even be able to provide electricity to every Indian. Intervene in the functioning of social infrastructure and we might get meaningful policies for education and healthcare.

Without direct prime ministerial intervention, though, we will continue to leave vital areas of development in the hands of ministers chosen for political, religious or caste reasons rather than their competence.

Proof of this came in last week's cabinet reshuffle. Vital ministries continue to be in the hands of men who should not be allowed anywhere near them. Worse, competence has been punished. An example is Vasundhara Raje, mysteriously divested of Khadi and Village Industries after working tirelessly for two years to try and make this defunct department relevant in modern times. She weeded out those who were making small fortunes out of government grants without producing a yard of khadi and tried to give the department a profitable reason for its existence. Instead of being rewarded she was punished. Why? Jagmohan is another example of a competent-however cussed-minister who found the Urban Development Ministry snatched from him despite sincere efforts to stop illegal urban construction. Incompetent ministers, on the other hand, continue to go from strength to strength. The list is too long to fit in this column.

Other problems have resulted from the prime minister not taking a personal interest in governance. Due to his laissez-faire style of leadership and because most of his ministers are on-the-job trainees, the bureaucracy has become disturbingly disobedient. I have seen even the mighty Jagmohan defied by a municipal official in Delhi who said to me in so many words, "He might be a big boss in his ministry but I'm the boss here." This kind of defiance is now common and usually causes the best policies to gather dust. If the prime minister ordered his office to check how many of his policies have actually been implemented by the ministries in charge he would be astonished at the backlog. Even in ministries as crucial as finance there are no signs that the fine intentions enunciated by Yashwant Sinha in his budget speech are anywhere near implementation.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry's hounds are out of control. Anyone with his ear to the ground in Mumbai will tell you that the Finance Ministry's enforcement officials are running extortion rackets that makes the takings from street vendors look like small change. Officials turn into little demons when they serve a weak government.

Only the prime minister can change the impression that he takes a lackadaisical, apathetic approach to governance. He can change it by making his office check on the progress of his policies every week. He could make a beginning with street vendors and rickshawpullers. Now that he has intervened and suggested an alternative policy to the Delhi Government we need to know how soon it will be implemented. No big changes are required, only delicensing. So if it has not been implemented by the time you read this, he needs to write to the lieutenant-governor again because if the prime minister's orders can be defied there really is no hope.

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