A Vision for Better Governance in TS

In ademocracy with several hopes, aspirations, ambitions, desires, requirements, passions, problems and issues, people’s expectations are high. Political parties make several promises during polls to meet these to impress upon voters. After coming to power, their sincere execution is anybody’s guess. People may also have innumerable other daily and occasional needs pertaining to education, health, emergency, obtaining various certificates etc. In addition to these, they may like to seek benefit from some ‘Ad hoc Schemes’ of government announced from time to time. People appreciate, admire, laud, reward, and award that party which in their view fulfils its promises, not necessarily overnight, but at least phase wise.

Orthodox way of implementing schemes, devoid of identifying ‘Right Beneficiary,’ and absence of frequent feedback and feedforward mechanism is totally unacceptable to people. A ‘Structural Administrative Machinery’ to elicit ‘Public Opinion’ for midterm evaluation of schemes is not only mere desirable, but also may be indispensable. Supreme Court, six years ago, in a judgment referred to the malaise of duplicate beneficiaries reaping the fruits of welfare schemes meant for genuine deprived classes. It also quoted former PM Rajiv Gandhi who said that, of every rupee spent by the government, only 15 paise reach the intended beneficiary. Apex Court felt that, a major hurdle is identifying genuine beneficiary. It said that, in spite of significant economic growth since Independence, benefits thereof have not percolated down to the poor and the poorest!!!

Some of us like-minded persons recently met and had a discussion to understand the mind of people or voter in a typical democratic functioning like Indian. On critically analysing the first of its kind welfare and development measures, of first Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, in his two terms in office, which did not help him win election for third term, we got some random clues. However well-envisioned scheme that might be, in the process of implementation, possibilities of technical, transparent, and unintentional hitches adversely affected optimum utilisation by eligible beneficiary. It may also be, subject to verification, that multiple benefits were enjoyed by few, whereas others were unable to enjoy benefit of even one.

In Telangana, people with millions of aspirations gave comfortable mandate to A Revanth Reddy-led Congress Party. It established better credibility through ‘More Beneficial Schemes’ like the ‘Six Guarantees.’ Revanth Reddy sworn in as Second Chief Minister of Telangana formed his cabinet with experienced persons and revamped top-level administration machinery for effective and ‘As Speedy as Possible’ implementation of electoral promises. CM and his team is on the move in right direction for total fulfilment of promises it made.

Governor in Her R-Day address said that the newly elected people’s Government started functioning with full consciousness and is striving with the objective of delivering equal opportunities rendering social justice, and granting freedom to all sections of people. Governor also mentioned that in the past, people did not know where to raise their grievances. Hence, for a ‘Better Governance’ it requires establishing a transparent, easy, convenient, and citizen-friendly mechanism, that perhaps (only perhaps) hitherto missed, to enable every scheme reaches the right beneficiary followed by proper evaluation. ‘Field Level Public Relations Officers (PROs)’ as Mentors and Facilitators may better suit for this.

People should believe that the ‘Six Guarantees’ are not mere ‘Populistic Schemes,’ but, are ‘Game Changers’ to transform society and lives of poor and be invaluable investments for future, to infuse self-assurance in every ‘Telangana Citizen.’ Though ‘Per Capita Income’ and ‘GSDP’ are on increase, as claimed, there has not been any significant change in the lifestyle of poor below the poverty line. ‘Six Guarantees’ may raise the below poverty line people above poverty line. Nonstop continuance of ‘Praja Palana’ or ‘Governance by People’ by CM Revanth Reddy, in ‘Letter and Spirit’ is desirable. They may just require ‘Field Level PROs’

Democratic governance presupposes teamwork for taking decisions on schemes, and the ways and means to reach them to the really needy beneficiary. The intricacies of the scheme and procedural difficulties in obtaining benefit are seldom addressed. Quite often, leave alone an ordinary citizen, even some Al India Service Officers at different levels were unaware, and rarely there was an attempt to clear doubts in them. To overcome this, in future, a well-oriented and trained Field Level PRO who will be a Mentor or Facilitator may be entrusted with the job.

For the past 50 days, Revanth Reddy’s ‘People-Centric Governance,’ and the aims, objectives, and policy procedures of schemes were experienced positively by people. In the well-designed ten-day ‘Praja Palana’ details of prospective beneficiaries were systematically enumerated by the government, in a duly filled format. Relevant family details such as address, aadhar, ration card numbers etc., were also obtained. Prospective beneficiaries’ data for ‘Mahalakshmi, Rythu Bharosa, Indiramma Houses, Gruha Jyothi, and Cheyutha’ schemes was documented. Added to these, it is likely that the government from time to time may announce more welfare schemes benefiting all sections of people of the society. Effective enabling mechanism for these schemes reaching prospective beneficiary without gaps should be the job of ‘Field Level PROs.’

In Telangana, more than 20 million (2 Crores) people live in rural areas and the remaining 15 million (1.5 Crores) live in urban areas according to the 2011 census. Among these, one-third are illiterates and many more may be computer illiterates. Despite various publicity modes to educate people on various schemes as is being done now and even earlier, many may not be able to know all the intricate details involved in availing a benefit. Hence the need to think of appointing Public Relations Officers at field level, who will be trained systematically and fully equipped to take care of requirements of prospective beneficiaries in all aspects right from creating awareness to availing benefit of any scheme.

Field Level PRO, a government functionary, may be recruited on a temporary basis to begin with, helps from end-to-end prospective beneficiary about various aspects of a scheme, procedure involved in applying, persons whom he or she may have to meet, documents that are required etc. Field PRO plays the role of Mentor, Facilitator, Counsellor, Teacher, Researcher, Mediator, Advocate, or, in brief, as ‘Friend, Philosopher and Guide’ on behalf of the government. With extraordinary versatility at times, they perform a specialized role to meet the specific need of individual like a health or education or an emergency issue.

Logistics are simple. At the rate of one ‘Field Level PRO’ for every 2,000 persons to begin with, in rural areas and at the rate of one for every 3,000 persons in urban areas, total requirement (rural 10,000 and urban 5000 for a population of 2 crores and 1.5 crores respectively) is 15,000 PROs. However, population increase may also be taken into consideration and accordingly it may change numbers. At the rate of, say, some Rs 35,000-50,000 per month per PRO, it may cost about Rs 52.5-75 crores per month and Rs 600-900 crore per annum on them. Percentage of this small amount in the anticipated expenditure of about Rs 2.15 Lakh crores for implementing six guarantees is negligible and may perhaps be worthwhile spending.

These PROs may be recruited directly from colleges, uiversities, professional colleges from among those who freshly completed Graduation, PG, MBA, Journalism, Law, Public Relations etc., on the ‘Campus Recruiting Basis.’ An independent autonomous body may be considered for this purpose. Systematic training may be imparted in Dr MCR HRD Institute on the basis of ‘Cascading and Multiplication’ training technique, before putting them on the Job. At field-level, they handle the public image of government. Why not give a thought to this please?