Dr. Qazi Ashraf
Three important measures need to be taken by the administration of LG UT of J&K, Manoj Sinha on an urgent basis. They constitute “Three Node Strategy.”
To push start the fruitful political process, the Three Node Strategy needs to be implemented with immediate effect. That will establish trust and rapport with the masses and help create an atmosphere of discipline. A perspective of the seriousness of the administration toward long-pending strategically important issues is what is needed. Transformation, not transference, should be the focus of the Government. A sense of order and discipline easily percolates into the deeper layers of society when the administration takes lead in implementing human-oriented measures. It makes a real difference as the historical evidence has consistently proven. Otherwise, a mere projection of a façade in the negation of the content will brew further dissent and disinterest of the people.
In the context of Kashmir, it is high time to take the extreme position. That is to implement moderate measures radically. Small measures in a big way.
Every living soul knows that two arenas where maximum people-to-people interaction takes place are 1) Market and 2) Hospitals. In Kashmir valley alone, it is estimated that 26 lac hospital visits happen on monthly basis. That translates into a huge people to people interaction. So hospitals are important platforms that convey the strengths or the weaknesses of the administration directly and, more importantly, subliminally to the gut of the public. Indiscipline and chaos in the hospitals send a strong message to the masses about who holds the real power – the legitimate administration or the invisible mafia-run ghost administration.
Unfortunately, not much has changed in the healthcare delivery system in the last two years. The chaos, indiscipline, and shabby dispensation of services despite the quantum leap up-gradation of the hospital infrastructures, persist as if no investment has ever been made in the Government-run HealthCare Industry.
The scene in the Market place is no better, although good roads have been constructed particularly during the last two years. Road connectivity and macadamization picked up a humungous pace beating all the previous records. But what has not changed much is the discipline on the roads. The traffic violations, trespassing, encroachment continue as they were. This all paints a status quo ante picture in minds of the populace.
Healthcare, Road and Transport, and Market are the faces of a Government. They are crucial tobuilding the perception of the masses about the overall efficiency of the Government. Indiscipline in these three critical areas breeds gross social indiscipline.
In 1986, private practice of the Medical College Faculty was banned, and for good reasons. The Hon’ble High Court also upheld that ban in its landmark judgment on the petition challenging the ban.
People of the State (now UT) have not forgotten how it got derailed in the 90s. Neither have they seen the legacy of the militancy era getting dismantled despite the tall claims made by the successive administrations to the contrary. It is historically evident that no administration has had the guts to do away with this legacy of the 90s. What prevents the Governments from banning the private practice of Government doctors is better known to them.
So, what needs to be done immediately, almost on a war footing, to restore people’s confidence in the institution of Government? The answer lies in taking Three Steps. Minor, yes, but radical indeed.
Handle Quality-of-life crimes by implementing some minor traffic rules, in the letter and spirit. For example: Charging fine from pedestrians walking randomly on and across the roads; crossing in defiance of traffic lights; fining vehicle drivers for stopping randomly to pick and drop passengers; fining drivers overtaking each other, especially at the crossings. When Mr. Bratton took charge as police chief of New York, he transformed the New York City Metro network from a crime and violence infested hub into one of the most secure transport networks within a couple of years. All that with help of only 10 policemen. Why, if under Bratton ten policemen could handle the Metro network of a city like New York, fifty policemen can’t handle a city like Srinagar?
Raise the credit ceiling and lower the interest rates on the bank loans as has been done in other states of the country. Make the credit coverage of business startups hassle-free and lower the mortgage requirements. Make tax collection from all the real estate businesses, private business establishments, and the informal sector (wherever feasible in the case of medium and small-scale entrepreneurship) a priority. People are habituated to decades of disorder and indiscipline. In such circumstances, shock therapy is counter-productive. When little things and minor changes are introduced (Broken window repaired as the Mayor of New York once ordered) the message goes out subtly yet strongly.
Ban the private practice of the Teaching Faculty of Medical College, Srinagar in a phased manner. In the first phase, the Super-specialty wing of Medical College should be served the order followed by, a year or so later, the faculty of Medical College. That will incur a negligible burden on the public exchequer (in the form of non-practicing allowance). Importantly, the Government doctors working in the peripheries should be allowed to continue with the private practice. That will incentivize the young doctors to work in the peripheral and rural areas.The overall healthcare delivery will improve bringing quality healthcare to the doorstep.
The urgency for the implementation of the Three Node Strategy is real. Perceptions matter more than reality. If the long-existing disorder and indiscipline are dismissed as a minor aberration, then a full-blown social epidemic may be hard to handle. This rot can pose a serious threat to national interest.
It demands Political and Administrative courage primarily from the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to implement liberal reforms radically. The “Power of Context” says that what really matters is Little Things.
(The author is Surgical oncologist, Social activist)
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