But more than that, the decisions taken by the government of India in introducing a delivery channel which is different from the delivery channel hitherto being practiced— if you look at the rural employment guarantee programme, rural health mission programme, the Sarva Shiksha programme -- these are not through the conventional government department delivery channels. These are through people, society and groups.
The idea was that there would be an element of vigilante, there would be participative kind of delivery of these projects. To that extend the government has done very well in building up on these models for delivery of programmes. Inclusion to that extent has certainly been brought about by the government. It is now left to polity, society— urban and rural –to take these legislations, empower themselves and ensure that they come forward to implement it.
Why do we leave it to the government alone anymore to introduce probity, transparency, accountability, etc. I think round the globe and within the country too leaving it to the government— that model has not succeeded so much. I think enlightened citizens groups …must empower themselves and try and ensure that government officials certainly live in glass houses so that all their actions are there to see but at the same time such transparency applies to corporates also.
I believe I have been given the powers to govern for five years if I have become an elected member, or a person like me who just by the virtue of having passed an examination, which I took 35 years back, for life I have been permitted the powers to take decisions which I think are correct that is why I am averse to transparency. But no longer does it hold true with RTI coming and taking root in the system.
Today the administrative executive, which will be people like me, or the political executive, both have become conscious of the fact that any decision that they take, they will have to record reasons in writing. Otherwise, believe me, we get to see government files more than you, the brazenness with which decisions were being taken is absolutely appalling. Fortunately, with transparency or accountability, today each one of us will be held accountable, and we are conscious of that now, of any decision that we take.
We were at one point of time transparency averse but no longer. Today I think everything is coming out in the public domain.
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