Forum Debate: Congress — 29 Sep 2017
DEBATE (1) Congress
Negative votes will revive the Congress Party.
S Mathews
DEBATE (2) Congress
Only Nehru- Gandhi family.
R K Jain
DC Sahab da Dhaba
In the year 1994-95,Andhra Pradesh started selling the rice at subsidized rates to poor, thereafter Tamil Nadu led the field including the cheap food for all at subsidized govt canteens. Punjab didn't lag behind and started selling Atta dal at cheap rates to targeted groups in 2007.So there is tough competition at populism at national level. In the recent days, the only work which the govt seems to be doing, is to start Saadi Rasoi or Sanjhi Rasoi through the deputy commissioners generally at district head-quarters, where everyone will get food at fixed affordable rates. There is inter-se competition amongst the deputy commissioners to outdo their peers and that too speedily. Not in the very distance past ,similar competition was visible amongst them to initiate steps for e-governance. I don't remember if any district stood second in that cut-throat competition. Every other day there used to be report that such and such district of Punjab has stood first in the country in e-governance. The public still stands in wilderness, eyes wide open, as to know the benefits of e-governance.
The noble work Saanjha chulha, Sasti rasoi , Saadi rasoi etc is being done without any financial help from the govt. Many, so called philanthropists have been roped in for financial boost to the project. The district officers will have to pay through their noses, for these acts of ostentatious charity, in due course, as such philanthropists have hidden agenda. Primarily Red Cross has taken the initiative to manage these food courts. People still remember that on several occasions in the past, the govt had categorically stopped collection of money by the govt employees for Red Cross. There were serious allegations of misuse of such funds, even at the level of deputy commissioners and a commission was appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court , to probe these allegations.It is a fact that the govt collect funds for Red Cross coercively at the time of registration of documents, issue of Arms licenses, issue of driving licenses, issue of Birth and Death certificates and many other similar govt works. The people who voluntarily pay for Red Cross are scarce. Red Cross has done the maximum harm to the probity of the officers over a long period. It is one of the largest organizations, which have promoted corruption in the govt. Here you rob Ruliya Ram to pay Ruldu Ram. One poor is robbed to make other poor comfortable.
Should Punjab open such dhabas, which will be a constant nuisance for the district administration ? Who will be the beneficiaries ? Punjab is not a state ,where such arrangements are required. Most of the poor people live in rural Punjab and they cannot come to the district head-quarters to avail of the cheap meals. Most of the beneficiaries are going to be from the category, which can afford meals at reasonable rates. The regime should not have been carried away by the media reports of success of such schemes in other states, where the number of poor and the level of poverty is much higher.
I remember, in Bhatinda,in 1978,S.Bikramjit singh IAS, the deputy commissioner, had got a Red Cross Bhojan Bhandar ,opened, for general public. It remained a very successful venture as it was self reliant and did not have to depend on the forced charity. If the deputy commissioner will run the dhaabas, then from whom we can expect good governance. There are reports that govt was planning to appoint more than 12000 persons ,mostly ex-servicemen, as guardians of governance. If the Chief instrument of governance will run the dhaba, then where the governance will be for guarding it ? The state must know that already the governance did not exist in the state and that too for large number of years. It is not poverty but governance which has been living in self exile. The regime should use Galileo's telescope to see it somewhere. I remember ,many years back, a chief minister of the state expressed his worries about the dwindling finances of the state , as the govt had failed to pay salary to its employees for one month. He had a large battery of advisers, who tried to soothe him. They said that there was nothing to worry as Bihar had not been able to pay the salaries for many months together. The position has come to a stage, where we cannot even look at Bihar for consolation.
The deputy commissioners ,out of fresh zeal and the urge to please the seniors, are devotedly, opening the Rasois. Once the priorities change, the scheme may generally get ignored for generating large number of complaints. It is the right time that the regime understands the potential and value of their brilliant officers and put them on the track of governance and only governance and not succumb to the populism to underutilize them and consequently undermine them. Thank God! SSPs have not been deployed to open Sweets shops for the poor so far.
Surinderjit Singh Sandhu, Amritsar
