• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Pet objective

Ashok Dasgupta

DOWNSIZING of the Government and reduction in unproductive expenditure through cuts in various subsidies, including food and fertiliser, has been a ``pet objective'' of all regimes at the Centre ever since the process of economic reforms and structur al adjustments was set in motion by the Government headed by Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao.

Needless to say, despite the statements often made by the authorities since then on the dire need to trim Government flab and control expenditure through a strict regimen of austerity measures, the efforts, more often than not, remained merely an exercis e on paper.

True, a great number of stipulations were formulated by the Finance Ministry and, at its behest, the Ministries were made to draw up a list of posts that could be rendered redundant. However, at the end of it all, what actually came about was a minor tin kering here and there and the final outcome was nothing much to write home about.

During those years, of the few departments which were rendered redundant, the officials and other employees were absorbed in other Ministries. Obviously, for the simple reason that the affected employees could not be rendered jobless all of a sudden. It may not be out of place to mention that while this exercise of cost-cutting was on, the constituency fund was launched under which each Member of Parliament -- be it the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha -- is given Rs. 1 crore annually for constituency development.

A fine measure this, for the all-round development of the country if the Rs. 540 odd crores is actually spent on constituency development such as paving approach roads, installing tubewells and other welfare measures. The irony in the whole exercise is t hat the funds, once disbursed, do not come under audit and it depends on the benevolence of each member as to how much is spent on development.

Be that as it may, the NDA Government not only paid lip-service to the need for exercising restraint in expenditure but also actually set up the Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC). Under the chairmanship of a former Finance Secretary, Mr. K.P. Geethakr ishnan, the commission's mandate is to advise the Government on the various ways and means of reducing expenditure and downsizing the Government.

At the same time however, the NDA Government, perhaps because there are 24 parties in the coalition, set up a jumbo Council of Ministers with various layers of Ministers whereby the requirement of senior bureaucrats and subordinate staff is all the more, especially when some Ministries and departments have been bifurcated to accommodate more Ministers.

But, with the need for cost-cutting at the back of their mind, some Ministers have done away with a few posts -- such as a Secretary and a couple of joint secretaries -- who have been accommodated in the Planning Commission as advisors and the like. At least one such Minister has also written to the Prime Minister detailing the measures he has adopted for cost-cutting. What, however, he did not write about is the fact that instead of a total strength of 15 members allowed in his personal staff, the Minister actually has 28.

Although details are not yet available, the ERC is understood to have given its recommendations on how to make the food subsidy regime more transparent and target subsidies to the really needy. Its next report would be fertiliser subsidy and restructurin g of a few Ministries.

If the rumblings on the food subsidy issue -- both within the NDA and outside -- following the measures proposed in this year's Budget are any indication, no major tinkering on either food or fertiliser appears possible, politically. Even if t here's a will, there may not be a way.