Prof Javed Mughal
We live in a State of Jammu and Kashmir where about 210000 families are below poverty lines. It is a State which is dotted with frequent power-cuts compelling the public to suffer so badly; it is a State where people are suffering for inadequate water supply; hospitals are without sufficient medicines and inevitable equipments; schools are sans required infrastructure, roads are in a shabby state of affairs; unemployment is looming large over a considerable bulk of educated youth, the drop-out rate due to poverty has gone upto 25 percent and countless students are going without uniforms, admission fees and books; where our ReTs (the builders of the nation) are compromising with a disgusting amount of remuneration and more than 60000 daily Wage Workers have been waiting for so many years for being regularized with many of them almost getting over-aged and above all ours is a State which has badly failed to come out of the debt trap which is about Rs 60000 crores more than 60 percent of its GDP and close to five times of its tax and non tax revenue leaving every new born baby with a debt-share of Rs 4000/- on an average. In such a State our Government must apply wisdom while handling the financial affairs keeping in mind that even a slight irresponsible move can create an intractable hurdle on the way of our progress. Under such circumstance, the decision to donate one month additional salary for just one day-duty in Panchayat Elections (involving an enormous expenditure to the point of many millions) is nothing but a routine negligence or reluctance of our power-lords. I am surprised to know that this is one the most corrupt state in the country ranking with Bihar, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as per certain survey reports. I fully agree with the Governor, Satya Pal Malik when he remarked while speaking at a Press Conference after releasing a compendium of developmental and administrative works done in the state during Governor’s rule, “Corruption is the single biggest problem of the state.
Those in power here, be it political, administrative or business power, live like Mughal emperor Jahangir.” This is a big blow to our credibility and honesty but even then we are not ready to reform and renovate our approach. I know this write-up of mine shall, for sure, be a little difficult to be digested by some of my counter-parts whose one month additional salary is at stake but to me my country and my people are above everything. The announcement of this absurd and incredible incentive-package is, no doubt, an attempt of the govt. to gratify the taste buds of certain greedy tongues in the system. It indicates the incapability of the state machinery to get the services of the state employees without propitiating them with unreasonable additional perks and incentives.
One month additional salary to those who worked for one month or more in elections as Master Trainers, Returning Officers or Assistant Returning or otherwise who remained busy for about one month with election process in one capacity or the other is okay to some extent but the similar incentive for one duty is quite confusing and is enough to leave a question mark on the administrative and managerial caliber of the Government. It is a great damage to the financial fabric of the state where it is hard for countless families to manage two times meals comfortably. We can’t waste money this way since this is the public money for the systematic development of the state and society. It is absolutely unjust to spend money lavishly where it is not indispensably required. I am reminded of a beautiful but heart-rending reply of Khwaja Zafar Ali, a renowned journalist of India to one of his guests from Europe when the later came to India to meet the former. While sitting over a cup of tea, the European guest left the glass with some quantity of tea in the cup.
After finishing his own share, Khwaja Zafar Ali picked up the cup of the guest and gulped down the left-over portion of tea. The Guest quite surprisingly asked, “Mr Zafar Ali, why did u do so? What is all this?” Khwaja Zafr Ali, with tears in the eyes, replied, “Mr. Philip! My Country can’t afford to waste food this way.” And today the custodians of our State are spending money of the public in such an irresponsible manner as is beyond the ken of my understanding. Didn’t the Government think even once before making this indigestible announcement of crediting one month additional salary in favour of even those who performed only one-day-duty in elections in the capacity of Magistrate, Presiding Officer, and Polling Officer so on and so forth? On this decision of the government, my heart is down with a mixture of severe shock, surprise and sarcastic smile as well. Unfortunately such a stance shall push our already-poverty-stricken state more into the abyss of financial crunch. We must realize that we are a poor state and can’t afford this suicidal generosity at all. I still remember what Oscar Wilde once said somewhere, “those who are not self dependent financially, don’t have right to be romantic at all.”
Whenever I happen to have a piece of conversation with the young men of my society, I always advise them to keep these Oscar Wilde’s words in their mind and refrain from draining out the wallets of their parents. At least the Government of my state must not even dream of being spend-thrift to such an extent. Since 1947, election-process has been taking place in this country but this dramatic handling of panchayat elections happened for the first time. The smooth conduct of elections is a constitutional responsibility of every citizen of India. At the most routine TA/DA fixed under rules can be understood but One Month Extra Salary for just one day…No, Never, Not at all. Crores of rupees for incentives, as in news these days, can be given to the Colleges for Financial Assistance to so many poor students; to the poor families to have some respite for the time being; to the hospital for purchase of medicine, to the schools in the villages for renovation of the buildings and purchase computers etc.
One Additional Salary for One Day in elections or elsewhere is a very bad precedent and if not checked forthwith, is likely to continue in future as well. If so, in future no employee shall even lift up the pen in elections without such irrelevant perks and incentives. We must not bypass the fact that a state that has no other option than to live on debts and donations does have right to be a spend-thrift to such an extent.
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