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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, DEC 12: The bureaucracy must stand quot;firm and directquot; to ensure that partisan interests are not served in the run-up to the general elections, feels Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian.
quot;Senior bureaucrats have a grave responsibility now. This is a time when partisan interests are involved. The bureaucracy must not lend itself vehicle to these interests,quot; he told The Indian Express today.
He said he would be advising Secretaries to the Government of India and States8217; Chief Secretaries to apply their minds in enforcing the circular he sent out last week on the do8217;s and don8217;ts for a caretaker government.
Broadly, the circular warned against new policy decisions and large financial commitments by governments in this period of political flux. At the same time, it stressed that normal government work should continue so that administration work is not hampered.
While the Cabinet Secretary8217;s note is a routine restriction imposed on caretaker governments on the eve of elections, Subramanian was quick to point out the onus it places on the bureaucracy. quot;It is for the bureaucrats to interpret this self-imposed code of conduct. They have to make sure that work goes on. At the same time, they have to see to it that the government does not appear to be giving gifts to certain classes of people. A delicate balance has to struck between a functioning government and a neutral one,quot; he emphasised.
Clearly, trying times are ahead for the bureaucracy, at least until the Election Commission8217;s Code of Conduct, which spells out things in greater detail, comes into play. However, Subramanian is confident that if senior bureaucrats put their heads together, they can keep the administration going.
He himself is in regular touch with the Secretaries in various central government ministries, answering several queries a day on what constitutes a policy decision and what doesn8217;t.
For instance, the Ministry of Civil Supplies had a doubt the other day on extending the Essential Commodities Act which expires on December 31. The extension would be a routine administrative decision and could easily be taken by a caretaker government if it thought the Act was necessary.
Similarly, the Ministry of Health inquired about setting up new medical colleges and bringing new Non Governmental Organisations NGO on to the government list. The answer: new medical colleges should wait for the new government, but new NGOs could be recognised as long as this did not involve changing set policy guidelines.
The ordinance being planned by the Union Government to raise the salaries of judges, according to Subramanian, is part of the ongoing process of implementing the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations and therefore nothing out of the ordinary.
Also, a Cabinet meeting is scheduled for Monday with routine clearances as its agenda. It8217;s business as usual. quot;The common man should not suffer just because there is an election. Decision-making is a slow process in this country. We should not give an excuse for it to slow down further,quot; Subramanian declared. Meanwhile, the EC has banned use of State-owned aircraft and helicopters by all Ministers till the the coming mid-term poll to the Lok Sabha is concluded.
Election Commissioner G V G Krishnamurty announced this today, saying that it had also been unanimously decided by the Commission that privately owned aircraft and helicopters should be allowed for use by political parties on payment. The payments should be made by cheque as stipulated under the income-tax, he added.
