The news and photos of Mandrem MLA Jeet Arolkar filling the pothole on the road while on his way to Morjim has gone viral. Anyone may think that it is no big deal since the MLA did his duty as a peoples' representative. However, there is a subtext to this. It is not that the PWD officials who are responsible to take care of the roads are not aware of the potholes. It is also not that the MLA might not have directed the officials to repair the roads. Nonetheless, probably even the MLA has understood that these potholes will not be filled. He might have experienced on the multiple occasions, that the administrative system has entirely collapsed. Hence, he preferred to fill the pothole himself instead of calling and directing the PWD official to do the same. This one example is more than enough to show how low the lack of sensibility has dipped among bureaucrats and lower officers.
Sometime back the government had burnt their own hands by organising 'Prashasan Tumchya Daari' initiative. The ministers might be recovering from the burning questions which were thrown at them by the public at that time. Now to add to this, it has been decided for the ministers will address the matters on the first Monday of every month at the district level. It is not clear however, whether the same minister will address the queries or different ones will do so. Or it could lead to a confusing situation where the minister addressing the issues might not even be aware of the problems raised by the people before the previous minister at the previous meeting.
As part of the preparation of the upcoming general elections and to celebrate nine years of the Modi-led regime, BJP officials and the ministers are touring State-wide. It is indeed a good thing that the account of the Central government's nine years of work is reaching the common people and it will continue for many days to come. However, it should also be analysed whether the bureaucracy which is required to implement the government schemes is being ignored. In fact, the crucial question is whether it will ever be thought of why Janata Darbar has to be organised in the first place? One should check the attendance of the government employees during the month of May. There was no one watching over it. There is also no more fear that the chief minister might suddenly barge into any of the government offices. Chief minister's visits are announced well in advance and all is taken care of in the particular office before the chief minister arrives. While understanding the problems of the people, it should also be studied due to which administrative difficulties the respective problems have arisen. The Janata Darbar would be fruitful only if these problems are resolved. One may also wonder why the administration has to be stressed upon. Administration is an on-going process which stays at the same place regardless of the government in power. State runs on the accountability of the administration. Obviously, the respective system is expected to be alert and job-ready all the time. Hence, the focus should be on speeding up the administration. While the same has been promoted in the speeches, the picture while getting the work done in the government offices tells a contrasting tale. This has to be changed.
In the end it's the common people who are at the receiving end. The improvements have to be done from the grass root level and should not stay restricted to listening to peoples' queries only during the elections. The effort has to be genuine. If the issues raised by the people are resolved then the public should be informed about the administrative errors which have been fixed. In fact, the calculations of how many problems raised in front of Janata Darbar were solved should be presented in front of all. The government is for the people and the rulers are trustees of the citizens.
Our country, there is representative democracy, where people elect their representatives and these representatives administer the State on behalf of the people. Hence, the importance should be given to what people want. Many times the decisions taken by the government do not receive public support. This means the people in power have failed to understand the pulse of the public. This is when the administration should be put to work. If there is consistent public communication on an administrative level then it would help to bridge the gap between the government and the people. This will help in understanding peoples' expectations better, which would ease the process of decision making. More importantly, there will not be a need to organise Janata Darbars.