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स्वच्छता का आग्रह – स्वच्छ भारत मिशन की वास्तविकता

पिछले कई वर्षों से भारत में स्वच्छता से सम्बंधित अनेक योजनाओं को अमल में लाने की कोशिश की जा रही है। मौजूदा प्रधानमंत्री ने भी इस विषय की गंभीरता को देखते हुए 2 अक्टूबर 2014 को उसकी चुनौतियों के समाधान हेतु स्वच्छ भारत मिशन की शुरुआत की। केंद्र सरकार का यह प्रमुख कार्यक्रम महात्मा गांधी की 150वीं जयंती के उपलक्ष्य में स्वच्छ भारत का सपना साकार करना चाहता है।यह भारत सरकार का सबसे बड़ा स्वच्छता कार्यक्रम है अतः भारत की अधिकतर राज्य सरकारों ने इस कार्यक्रम को प्राथमिकता दी है यह कहना गलत नहीं होगा। कार्यक्रम की प्रगति से जुड़े अनेक विवाद देखने मिलते हैं, पर अधिकतर आकड़ों में ही उलझे रहते हैं। यदि इस महत्वाकांक्षा को संभव बनाना है तो इन संख्यात्मक तथ्यों के भीतर की वास्तविकता को समझना होगा।

इस उद्देश्य से, स्वच्छ भारत मिशन एवं उसकी क्रियान्वयन कि प्रक्रिया का अध्ययन करने के लिए हमने दिसम्बर 2015 को हिमाचल प्रदेश के 2 जिलों के 60 गाँव के कुल 1,500 घरों का सैंपल सर्वेक्षण आयोजित किया। सर्वे के बाद हमारे पास इस योजना से सम्बंधित कुछ चिंताजनक मुद्दे सामने आये।

दिसंबर 2015 तक सर्वे के लगभग 10% ही घरों में स्वच्छ भारत मिशन के अंतर्गत शौचालयों का निर्माण हुआ था। हैरानी वाली बात तो यह थी कि सर्वे के 50%पात्र घरों के अनुसार उन्होंने शौचालय अनुदान के लिए कभी आवेदन ही नहीं किया क्योंकि उनको इसके बारे में कोई जानकारी ही नहीं थी। 90% से अधिक लोगों का कहना था कि इस विषय पर पंचायत द्वारा न तो कोई जागरूकता शिविर लगाया गया और न ही कोई उनके घर पर जानकारी देने आये। इसके फलस्वरूप कई घरों में शौचालयों की कमी पाई गयी और लोग खुले में शौच कर रहे थे।

इन जाँच परिणामों को हम सरकार के साथ साझा करना चाहते थे ताकि योजना में चल रही कमियों को पूरा किया जा सके और इस सन्दर्भ में हमने एक जिले के उपायुक्त से चर्चा की। अपनी उत्सुकता दिखाते हुए जिला उपायुक्त ने सभी विभागों के अधिकारीयों की उपस्थिति में हमें अपने आंकड़े प्रस्तुत करने की अनुमति दी। सर्वे की विश्वसनीयता को सही ठहराते हुए इसके आधार पर सभी विकास खंड अधिकारियों को जल्दी से जल्दी काम पूरा करने के निर्देश दिए।

इस दौरान मीडिया के माध्यम से हिमाचल सरकार राज्य को बाह्य शौच मुक्त (ओडीएफ) बनाने की बात कह रही थी। जून 2016 में सरकार ने सभी जिलों को शेष शौचालयों को पूरा करने के निर्देश दिए और राज्य को 2 अक्टूबर 2016 तक ओडीएफ घोषित करने का लक्ष्य निर्धारित कर दिया, हालाँकि लक्ष्य पहले 31 मार्च 2017 तक का रखा गया था। राज्य से लेकर ब्लॉक स्तर तक समितियां बनायीं गयी और हर स्तर के सभी अधिकारी इस अभियान को सफल बनाने में जुट गए।

आखिरकार, 28 अक्टूबर 2016 को हिमाचल प्रदेश खुले में शौच मुक्त दूसरा प्रदेश बना। सरकार के मुताबिक़ हिमाचल प्रदेश के सभी 12 जिलों के सभी 78 विकास खंडों की 3,226 पंचायतों के सभी 18,465 गांव खुले में शौचमुक्त हैं। राज्य के कुल 14,83,562 घरों में शौचालय हैं, अर्थात हिमाचल में अब कोई भी व्यक्ति खुले में शौच नहीं कर रहा था।

हमने नवम्बर 2016 में दुबारा अपने सैंपल में से 10 गाँव में हुए परिवर्तन को जांचने का निर्णय लिया। बाह्य शौच मुक्त घोषित होने के बाद यह पाया गया कि अधिकतर गाँव में शौचालयों के निर्माण में बढ़ोत्तरी तो हुई मगर अभी भी कई शौचालय बने ही नहीं थे और कुछ तो बिलकुल अधूरे पड़े हुए थे।

जब हमने लोगों से इसके बारे में जानना चाहा तो उनका कहना था,“पंचायत ने कहा था कि कम से कम गढ्ढे खोद लो ताकि यह लगे कि शौचालय बन रहे हैं”। घोषणा के बाद जैसे ही सरकारी दबाव कम हुआ तो लोगों में भी शौचालय बनाने की कोई उत्सुकता नहीं दिखाई दी। किसी ने पैसे के आपूर्ति की दुहाई दी तो किसी ने पानी की कमी को दोषी ठहराया। उन्होंने हमें साफ़ बताया कि वे शौच के लिए अभी भी बाहर जा रहे थे। तो ऐसे में सवाल यह उठता है कि फिर किस बात का बाह्य शौच मुक्त राज्य?

अधिकारीयों से जब हमने इसके कारण समझने चाहे तो सरकार द्वारा उनके ऊपर भी दबाव साफ़ तौर पर दिखाई दिया। एक ब्लॉक अधिकारी का कहना था,“इस पूरे अभियान को जल्दबाजी से किया गया। यदि इसके लिए और समय होता तो इसे अच्छे तरीके से किया जा सकता था, सरकार ने अपने राजनितिक स्वार्थों की वजह से इसे हमारे ऊपर थोपा है”। कई अधिकारीयों का कहना था कि उनके पास पर्याप्त स्टाफ और साधन नहीं थे और साथ ही समय भी कम दिया गया।

एक सरपंच ने अपनी हताशा को जताते हुए कहा,“पता नहीं क्यों सरकार को ओडीएफघोषित करने की इतनी जल्दबाजी थी, अभी भी बहुत से गाँव ऐसे हैं जहाँ पर आधे से अधिक घरों में शौचालय बनने को शेष होंगे या फिर अधूरे होंगे।हमें बार-बार गाँव में जाकर शौचालय एवं सफाई का निरिक्षण करना पड़ेगा तभी इसका असर वास्तविक रूप में दिखेगा अन्यथा इस ओडीएफ होने का क्या औचित्य है”। ये समस्याएं केवल एक जिले या प्रदेश तक सीमित नहीं हैं। अन्य राज्यों से भी ऐसी ही जल्दबाजी और लापरवाही की कहानियां मीडिया में आती रहती हैं। ऐसे में कुछ महत्वपूर्ण प्रश्न उभरते हैं।

जाहिर है कि स्वच्छता को केवल गड्ढे खोदने से प्राप्त न हीं किया जा सकता और ऐसा व्यापक सामाजिक बदलाव दबाव और जल्दबाजी से संभव नहीं। राज्य को सबसे पहले बाह्य शौच मुक्त घोषित करने की होड़ में जमीनी स्तर पर बहुत सारी जो कमियां रह जाती हैं उनकी भरपाई किस तरह से हो पाएगी यह एक बड़ा प्रश्न आज भी है। ज्यादातर देखा गया है की ओडीएफ घोषणा के बाद स्वच्छता सम्बंधित काम रुक जाते हैं। इन्ही कारणों से एक और अनिवार्य प्रश्न यह भी उठता है की स्वछाग्रह का अर्थ क्या है? क्या हम यह आग्रह कर रहे हैं कि हमें स्वच्छ होना चाहिए या कि हम स्वच्छ हो चुके हैं? स्वच्छ भारत की परिभाषा और सम्भावना, दोनों ही इस उत्तर पर निर्भर है।

A social sector crusader

The break in blogging was because I was confused.

My last two blogs were about my colleague in the IAS, V.J. Kurien, who is now Managing Director of the Cochin International Airport Limited. I had documented Kurien’s singular contribution to the project of building and running the international airport at Kochi, now considered to be the fourth busiest airport in India. I had intended, drawing from Kurien’s example, to tease out some general points on what constitutes an enabling environment for IAS officers to perform effectively.

However, the bigger picture did not form clearly in my mind. A critical piece of the puzzle seemed to be missing. Kurien works in the space of providing public infrastructure that is largely meant for the educated and those aspiring to climb up the economic and social ladder. An airport is not merely a place where aircraft land and you can board them; they are symbols of national resurgence. They make us proud; they make us believe that our country is progressing. They catch the public eye, they are written about, and a thousand selfies are shot with them in the background. It hit me in a flash; in order to flesh out thoughts on what makes IAS officers tick, I needed to find some who are successful in vastly different sectors than the one in which Kurien operates.

For all practical purposes, Vijay’s career, in spite of his passion and his professional excellence, seemed to be going the way of many before him; a pawn in the hands of an administration that was indifferent and cynical at best, and hostile at worst.

That is when I thought about T. Vijaykumar, a colleague, friend and mentor for three decades.

If one meet’s Vijay, he strikes you as an affable senior officer, more accessible than many of his ilk. He is quick to smile and even quicker to laugh; there is little of the dour, sanctimonious air that most officers carry when they advance in their careers, burdened with  the weight of their responsibilities, real or assumed. He is not boastful; he does not bother you with countless stories of him waving the magic wand and transforming the world. But if one steps back and reflects upon Vijay’s career over three decades, there are few officers who have had such a direct impact on the lives of people as he has.

Vijay’s career went along a predictable path in the earlier years; his tenures as sub-Collector and Collector were standard ones, reserved for those belonging to the IAS. Yet, very early in his career, Vijay realised that his passions lay with working for the poor and the marginalised and that he was willing to pay the price for that. Assigned to the undivided State of Andhra Pradesh in 1983, Vijay’s early years were spent in poverty stricken tribal areas. However, he only spent a year in a tribal sub division, as sub-Collector of Paderu, in Visakhapatnam district, (October 1985 – September 1986), before he ran afoul of powerful interests that wanted to subvert his work on restoration of land rights to tribal people in accordance with the prevailing law.

Yet, his Paderu stint was a defining one for him; his passion to work to improve the lot of tribal people knew no bounds. On his insistence with senior bureaucrats, he was once again posted to a tribal area, this time as the Project Officer of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency, in East Godavari district. This post was not without drama; Vijay was one of several officers who were kidnapped and held for ransom by left wing extremists who threatened to kill him if some of their colleagues were not released from jails. In spite of Vijay’s excellent work with tribal communities, he did not last too long in the post of Project Officer either. A year, and another run in with vested interests who opposed his moves to enforce the law with respect to tribal land rights, was sufficient to ensure his hasty exit.

In the intervening periods between these postings in tribal areas, Vijay served in the Social Welfare Department, then as a Deputy Commissioner in the Excise department where he lasted four months, and as a special officer for land acquisition and rehabilitation in Vishakhapatnam, for a period of 9 months.

For all practical purposes, Vijay’s career, in spite of his passion and his professional excellence, seemed to be going the way of many before him; a pawn in the hands of an administration that was indifferent and cynical at best, and hostile at worst. Frequent postings did not prevent him from quickly taking up several initiatives, but it was optimistic to presume that these were going to be sustained when he left.

Vijay was a stone, rolling through the corridors and by lanes of the administration, gathering no moss.

Then, the Girijan Cooperative Corporation happened to Vijay; or was it the other way around? Did Vijay happen to the Girijan Cooperative Corporation?

This blog is part of a series on leadership in the Indian bureaucracy. The views expressed are of the author only. 

An eye for detail

This blog is a continuation of ‘Why the Bureaucracy Clicks, and Doesn’t’ posted last week. You can find it here.

What marked out Kurien’s approach to the development of Kochi International Airport was his close association with the people of the locality and a genuine concern for the welfare of those displaced by such a land-intensive project. I remembered meeting Kurien briefly during his first stint as Managing Director of the airport in the late nineties, when he told me that he was personally monitoring the resettlement and income generation plan for each of the 821 displaced families, who lost their lands to the airport project.

At that stage, the airport, while still a bustling one, was hardly using the entire land that had been acquired. Kurien’s farsightedness had driven him to acquire a large swathe of land when it was still available, for the airports future expansion as well, but plenty of that land was still lying vacant. Kurien had plans of using that land, by leasing it to women’s self help groups for floriculture, so that they could benefit from export opportunities. In total, upward of 8,000 local people work in the airport premises at present.

It is this eye for detail and an un-relenting desire to seek economy and efficiency that has set apart Kurien from most bureaucrats. The results are there for all to see.

Recently, Kochi airport was in the news as it became the first airport in the world to be fully powered by solar energy. An initial 12 megawatt capacity sufficed for the needs of the airport, but currently, the installed capacity is 23 megawatt and is being expanded to 30 megawatt. The entire car parking area in the airport has been roofed with solar panels of a capacity of 2.7 megawatt, making it the second biggest such facility in the world.

Did that astounding achievement satisfy Kurien’s appetite for innovation in efficiency? Not in the slightest bit. Not satisfied with breaking even on energy consumption, Kurien’s team planted vegetable creepers such as pumpkin, ash gourd, cucumber and cowpea in between the solar photvoltaic panels. This kept the growth of weeds down and reduced ambient temperature, which increased the efficiency of the panels. The water used to hose down the panels and keep them cleaned were sufficient to irrigate the creepers. In the first year that such an experiment was tried, the airport harvested 30 tons of vegetables from its solar- kitchen garden.

Consider some other facts about the recent expansion of the airport, and one can see the effect of tightening the belt and squeezing efficiency out of every rupee spent in the public sphere. The new international terminal in Kochi covers an area of 1.5 million square feet. Yet, it is not yet another anonymous steel and glass confection, but is unmistakably Kerala in style. The striking aesthetics has not been achieved at a higher cost, but on the other hand, has made plenty of economic sense. The additional area has cost just Rs. 6,250 per square foot, only about 20 percent of what it cost to build Delhi International Airport and 40 percent cheaper than Kolkata International Airport.

The economy in construction and the watchful eye on the finances has resulted in high profitability for the CIAL, the Company that owns and runs the Kochi International Airport. In 2016-17, on an equity capital of Rs. 386 crore, the Company made a profit after tax of Rs. 180 crore. The cumulative dividend pay-out was 203 percent and brought cheer to 18,600 shareholders, most of them belonging to the Malayali diaspora, living in 36 countries.

What is the secret of Kurien’s success? Speak to the man and he will say modestly that he was lucky. To some extent, that is true. At a superficial level, one can argue that Kurien had long stints as Managing Director of the CIAL, having held the post in three stints, during the inception and growth phases. In a system where tenures at postings are not assured, his long innings can be attributed at the first instance to luck. However, on reflection, clearly, Kurien crafted his own luck.

His diplomatic visage hides a frightening tenacity. I am sure he would have rubbed a few powerful people on the wrong side and they might have wanted him out of the airport project. However, the backing that he had from the shareholders of the company, mostly Malayalis who worked abroad and who stood to gain with a large and well-functioning airport in Kochi, would have turned away anybody with narrow interests from interfering with Kurien’s approach. Anybody who might have attempted to remove Kurien would have suffered serious political repercussions. Therefore, Kurien created his own political clout, as it were, by dint of simply being outstanding, and therefore indispensable, at his job.

Is that possible on a large scale for the bureaucracy, or is Kurien’s case a flash in the pan? I will explore that question in my next blog.  

The ABC of Indian Bureaucracy- An Epilogue

Over the course of the last few weeks, through an alphabet series on the unique vocabulary of the Indian bureaucracy, we tried to present a satirical take on what it is that makes the Indian bureaucracy the formidable labyrinth that it appears to be to the common person. A language entirely of its own has in fact made the difference between the proverbial “insider” and “outsider” of the system much starker than it already was.

Reflecting on the numerous ways in which the same language is transmitted, absorbed and interpreted in the bureaucratic cog wheels makes one wonder about what is it that allows the perpetuation of such practices? While it is not untrue that each system develops certain codes and systems of meaning-making that are largely internal, for the bureaucracy this meaning-making has implications both in terms of how rules are understood as well as applied.

The subtext of the satire throughout this series was a commentary on the many systemic, long-pending and very difficult issues that plague the bureaucracy, which makes “normal” modes of working nearly impossible. From the rigid insistence on paperwork, mired in enduring red-tape; to the ever-present lack of staff, resources, funding; the strict hierarchies, the complex (perhaps even outmoded) systems of fixing responsibility-accountability; the use of fear and punishment as incentives for performance; and perplexingly the perseverance with which the bureaucracy appears to hold on to norms of bygone eras- each of these tendencies appear to give the bureaucracy a distinct character which is unique to itself.

A logic of its own

In fact, unlike governments, parties, corporates and even other private organisations, all of which are heavily dependent on, and can be steered in different directions by the leadership and management of different entities, the bureaucracy comes across as one of those unique systems- almost like markets, which have a logic of their own, shaped almost by an invisible hand. Much like the incomprehensible markets, the bureaucracy also appears to work on its own terms, no matter what one does from the inside or outside.

What we need first is an acknowledgement of the significant (if not most important) role that the bureaucracy plays any kind of “good governance”, of realising its needs, its difficulties.

The trait of the bureaucracy, of changing people to suit itself, rather than be modified through them and their actions, has resulted in ensuring that the system remains as it is no matter what happens outside. There appears to be an implicit understanding within the system that no matter who else comes or goes- governments, leaders, parties or policies, the bureaucracy alone is what will stay intact. This understanding, of governments being “replaceable” is at times so deep rooted within the mindset of those inside babudom, that it makes the concept of accountability to governments extremely complex. The idea of a “committed bureaucracy”- one that owes allegiance to the government (rather than the public) has also seen its fair share of debate over the decades, causing in fact the bureaucracy to be answerable more to itself than anyone else at the end of the day.

Bureaucracy and Governance

Nonetheless, no matter how such knowledge is absorbed by the bureaucratic system- knowing that it alone is what will remain intact once everything transient has gone, places the bureaucracy in a rather complex but interesting position within larger systems of governance. Given the pivotal role that the bureaucrats play in effecting everything- from policy design to policy implementation, being the mainstay of it all, a true transformation can only be achieved in any capacity once the bureaucracy adapts it and takes up the mantle of affecting change.

This unfortunately has not proven to be the case in general in a system which, unreformed from within, continues to be caught up in a colonial legacy and time warp of a bygone era- things move slowly here, at their own pace, and the long winding “due processes”, paying homage to hierarchies are considered more important than a focus on efficiency and/or speedy results. Many a times thus, the pulls and pushes of the system make it impossible for well-meaning interventions to be suitably adopted even when there may be the will to do so. This, coupled with the genuine systemic hurdles and extreme shortages that a chronically understaffed and over-pressurized system faces makes the task even harder- it is a wonder that the Indian bureaucracy has endured the way it has until now in such conditions!

But this is not to say that all hope is lost. The fact that the bureaucracy has endured in its ways is not to suggest that it has to, or must continue to do so. What we need first is an acknowledgement of the significant (if not most important) role that the bureaucracy plays any kind of “good governance”, of realising its needs, its difficulties, and its issues, and focusing on resolving those before expecting any magical turnaround through policies or reform measures which may appear great on paper but come close to nothing on fruition.

The bureaucracy is the backbone of this system, and it needs adequate care, so that its existing vocabulary, now rusty and ancient, can be revitalised in a way that effectively reflects the aspirations of a country longing for change. Any dreams of a “New India” rest surely but squarely on the collective efforts of all institutions of governance, and the embeddedness of such changes can only begin by strengthening the institution that perhaps bears the biggest brunt of it all- the bureaucracy.

Till such time as this happens, the current vocabulary would have to do- here’s hoping that this series helped explain some of those terms to you, albeit through a comic take.

Take a look at the blog series here and to share the blog series, click here. 

Teachers’ thoughts on teaching-learning

Over the past decade, our team at the Accountability Initiative has collectively interviewed several hundreds of teachers across states in India to understand their concerns, work environment and role perception. And year after year we have noted remarkably similar thought patterns emerge. On the occasion of Teacher’s Day, we connected with four senior teachers from four states for a free-wheeling discussion on similar topics, and once again, the outcome was the same.  In this blog I discuss two of the dominant narratives which occupy the average government school teacher’s mind.

Teaching continues to be viewed as a “noble vocation”, “a social service.” Teachers recognise and fully understand the importance of their role in shaping the future of the nation. Additionally, there is an increasing recognition of the importance of tailoring teaching methods to suit students’ learning levels. The image of the teacher as one who facilitates learning rather than one who purely transmits knowledge to students, is also slowly entering their imagination.

“A teacher’s role is to provide quality education to students which is in sync with their learning levels.”

“A teacher’s role is to teach according to the learning level of the students in a way that they (primary students in particular) understand concepts. It is also the teacher’s responsibility to identify and resolve issues that students may be facing in schools.”

“Teacher’s main roles are to provide education to students and create a healthy environment in schools wherein students are able to freely express themselves.”

This is encouraging. It indicates that the efforts being put in by the Central and state governments, and NGOs to create a paradigm shift in the way education is viewed have left an impression on government school teachers.

When asked about the big, positive changes they see around them in schools in the last decade, teachers are quick to point out that government schools provide services like mid-day meals which is a big draw for students coming from very humble backgrounds; and schools are generally better resourced now than ever before. When we ask about the negative changes in the last decade, the responses we hear almost certainly include the following – theintroduction of the No Detention Policy and the policy to ban corporal punishment are steps taken in the wrong direction.

Interestingly, when we ask teachers about the factors which affect teachers while teaching, and the factors which act as hindrances in the learning process, the list of reasons almost always includes the No Detention Policy and the ban on corporal punishment. A senior teacher sums up this reasoning:

“Earlier students feared us and took their lessons seriously. A few threats went a long way in making sure students remained focused on their studies. With the No Detention Policy and the move to end corporal punishment, students, and in some cases, teachers, have started taking studies lightly. They know there will not be any consequences if students score low marks since students are passed to the next standard regardless of what they actually know. Students in turn have become rowdy and don’t respect their teachers. They in fact threaten teachers because they (students) know they (teachers) cannot touch them.”

The intertwining of these two factors have created a twisted narrative which is deeply ingrained in many teachers’ minds.

Perhaps we are witnessing a system in transition. A paradigm shift is perhaps truly underway which is why we are seeing this paradox – on the one hand there is an increasing recognition of the need to change the way teaching-learning is viewed i.e. one where teaching is child-centric which means teaching is tailored to meet students’ learning needs and the teacher mainly acts as the facilitator. Yet there is a fervent desire to hold on to traditional methods of imparting education because they appear to work.

Change is hard. Even though there are normative shifts in the way policies around teaching-learning practices are being drafted and executed, implementers at the last and most important mile of implementation – the school – are taking much longer to catch up. This only tells us that the need to train teachers on innovative teaching methods, providing feedback and support post training sessions to clear up concerns and issues, is critical now more than ever.

With inputs from Senior PAISA Associates Swapna Ramtake, Vinod Verma and PAISA Associates Tajuddin Khan, Uday Shankar. 

Have something to add? Leave a comment below. 

Avani Kapur Accountability Initiative’s new Director

The Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is delighted to announce Avani Kapur as the new Director of Accountability Initiative (AI). She takes over from Yamini Aiyar who founded the Initiative in 2008.

Avani will lead AI at a time when it is rapidly expanding its research portfolio in the areas of public finance and public administration. Projects include in-depth quantitative and qualitative studies on public health, education, governance institutions and budget flows across India. 

Avani is currently a Fellow at CPR and has been leading the Public Finance research at AI. She is the driving force behind most of AI’s flagship research products, including the annual Budget Briefs and the PAISA surveys.

Avani is an alumna of the London School of Economics and Smith College, USA.

Yamini will continue to play a supervisory role and remain engaged in some of AI’s research projects.

 

Why the Bureaucracy clicks, and doesn’t

A six week drought on the blogging front was not without its compensations; I wandered and connected with people and friends. One of the interesting conversations that I had was on social media groups of my former colleagues in the civil services and the IAS. Social media can be stressful and mind-numbing at its worst and the temptation to walk away is often high. My civil services and IAS group are exceptions, because there is always something to learn, some elevating thought that rises above the usual jokes and banter.

One of the conversations that developed well on these groups was about the successes that were achieved by some of our colleagues. I would not deny that most civil servants are fiercely competitive, driven by the fact that the pyramid narrows at the top, but my colleagues are genuinely generous in their praise of the achievements of others.

That brings me to Kurien.

Anybody who uses the International Airport in Kerala’s commercial capital Kochi, would notice that it is quite an unusual structure. While most airports sport an anonymous façade; of an industrial shed with ultra-luxurious embellishments, Kochi’s airport harmoniously integrates Kerala temple architecture with the needs of a busy airport. The furniture in the domestic terminal comprises cushioned sofas made of wood, which would be more at home in a living room than in a busy air terminal. And busy, it is. Kochi airport is now the fourth busiest international airport in the country in terms of number of international flights and the traffic handled, following Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

V.J. Kurien is the Managing Director of the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), the Company that owns and manages the airport. He is currently serving his third term as the Managing Director and his name is synonymous with the airport. The story goes that all you need to mention is Kurien’s name to the taxi drivers in Kochi and they will take you to his home, or office.

So how did it all start? From the start of his career, Kurien earned a name not only for his hard work, but for his capabilities as a bridging individual of high integrity. Kerala is not your typical Indian State and hierarchies don’t work too well. People regard leaders only on their intrinsic merit and there is little bowing and scraping to authority. That often means that decisions are delayed, because consensus should evolve beforehand. Ideas and projects, even good ones, cannot be stuffed down the average Malayali’s throat. Kurien’s affable nature, patience and persistence endeared himself to everybody as a team builder.

As district collector of Kochi district, Kurien tried to facilitate the expansion of the Naval airport, built on Willingdon Island, a manmade island in Kochi harbor. However, the project was not feasible, due to limited space. Kurien turned his attention further inland and conceived of the idea of building an airport that would be within striking distance of Kochi and Trissur. To overcome the constraints in financing, he proposed a model of public private partnership, with funding drawn from the considerable Keralite diaspora that would benefit from direct international flights into Kerala. However, it is was not easy to commence the project. People in Kerala are passionately attached to their land, and while they all recognised the need for an international airport, they feared loss of livelihood if they were dispossessed of their land. With its culture of mass movements, local opponents to an airport in their vicinity organised themselves well to prevent the project from taking off.    

Kerala is not your typical Indian State and hierarchies don’t work too well. People regard leaders only on their intrinsic merit and there is little bowing and scraping to authority.

Just when a stalemate seemed inevitable, Kurien was able to obtain the support of the local government in the area, the Nedumbassery Panchayat. Local leaders began to see the sense in the airport coming up in their area, as it would enhance property values. Furthermore, the airport assured all those who would lose their lands for the airport, not only adequate compensation, but also stable employment. The airport, contrary to other similar projects elsewhere, agreed to pay property tax to the Panchayat. None of this would have been possible if it were not for Kurien’s credibility as someone who strived for consensus and peoples’ participation in decisions for the common good.

I will continue the story of Kurien’s success next week.

Discussion: The State of Aadhaar

Aadhaar is changing the way Indian residents interact with each other, the modern economy and government. The coverage of Aadhaar is increasing rapidly across India. However, for each of Aadhaar’s use-cases—whether it’s enabling bank account opening or authenticating a cash transfer—we do not have a clear understanding of the intended and unintended impacts of the use-case. Reports of exclusion from government programmes, for example, co-exist with contradictory reports of savings and reductions in corruption. 

On 21 July, Accountability Initiative hosted a discussion with IDInsight on the State of Aadhaar Report 2016-17. The report unpacks various topics related to Aadhaar. It also provides an overview of Aadhaar’s technological and operational architecture, legal and governance framework, and its applications in financial inclusion, social protection, and emerging uses in other sectors. The discussion was led by Ronald Abraham, Partner IDinsight, who shared some key findings.

Get a glimpse of the discussion here. You can also access the full discussion below. 

1. What is the State of Aadhaar

 

2. Key Questions Answered  

 

Bridging Gaps Between Citizens and the Bureaucracy – Part 2

In the previous blog, I highlighted two of the common themes emerging from stories shared with you over the last two months:

  • Digital illiteracy and access to internet facilities were keeping ordinary citizens from accessing vital information – ranging from filling up forms, making official changes to information that had been previously furnished to filing grievances.
  • Weak grievance redress mechanisms.

In the face of these hurdles, these proactive citizens applied the following ‘hacks’ upon facing trouble in accessing public services or rightfully due benefits.    

Hack #1: Directly contacting the MLA or other local politicians to get the job done.

This enabled a water-deprived community in Delhi to access water tankers (even though the water quality is poor and drinking water pipelines are still a distant dream).

Hack #2:  Seeking the intervention of the employer or other privileged folks in the vicinity to share their internet password and their computer. An English-speaking, digitally literate person’s services were needed to help navigate government websites.

It got a girl admitted to a private school in Delhi under the Economically Weaker Section quota. In the unfortunate situation where the requisite resources were in short supply, like in the case of some families in rural MP who were trying to access/modify their Aadhaar information, middle-men arranged this at a fee.

Hack #3: Organising a protest.

In Bihar, when no one in the concerned department was paying attention to formal requests, aggrieved people gathered for a protest. The local administration took action thereafter when the individual’s formal complaints regarding not receiving full rations were taken lightly.  

Hack #4: Filing RTI applications along with the original request.

There is an obvious caveat here. The applicant must first know how to file an RTI application. (Hacks 1 and 2 are applicable in this case as well!) Administrators are legally bound to move and respond to queries within 30 days.  Simultaneously the original request seems also to get the attention it deserves; something that may have otherwise taken an indefinite amount of time owing to a generally weak commitment to the idea of time-bound service delivery in India. We saw this in action in Himachal Pradesh where a citizen, upon anticipating a public order issue, promptly filed RTI applications to get the right officials to address the matter before it exploded.   

For a developing country like India which is marching down the good governance and e-governance path, it is not enough to simply create the policies and advertise using traditional means. The State must step in to create the demand for the same.

Moving towards long-term solutions

I must apologise in advance in case the readers found these unorthodox “solutions” unsatisfactory. The thing is that we shouldn’t be in a position where we have to resort to short-cuts or round about ways to access basic services! It belies the whole point of “efficient” service delivery and only increases a sense of mistrust and cynicism towards civic bodies. But unfortunately, this is the status quo even in this day and age of e-governance.

The administration on its part, in tandem with political players, is moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. For instance, in the case of admissions under the Economically Weaker Section quota in Delhi, the State Government has made headway by heavily advertising about the quota and admission process in the last two years, volunteer booths were set up to help families fill up admission forms across Delhi, there is a detailed FAQ about EWS admissions on the Education Department’s website in Hindi and English. A video in Hindi explaining how to fill the admission form step by step exists, and parts of the admission form itself are in Hindi. What stopped those involved from fully translating the form in Hindi is still a mystery, but the larger point is that we can see progress.

While resolving the twin challenges of improving access to IT resources and spreading digital literacy will require several more years, there are some things that the State can do in the medium to short term to bridge the last mile access gap. For a developing country like India which is marching down the good governance and e-governance path, it is not enough to simply create the policies and advertise using traditional means. The State must step in to create the demand for the same.

One way to do this could be by setting up internet kiosks for the public to freely access information or apply to avail various public services. Text on websites should be readable in regional languages. Short, informative videos can be put up on websites that communicate the same information as text, for wider reach. Governments should crack down on ‘technical middle men’ who are exploiting the gap in demand and supply. Finally, audits should be conducted to assess the efficiency of user-friendly government websites, and the efficiency of existing department-level grievance redress mechanisms.

In the meanwhile, it is incumbent on us as the citizens of this country to seek out public officials and discuss possibilities of deepening and re-imagining our modes of engaging with the system.

The views shared belong to individual faculty and researchers and do not represent an institutional stance on the issue.

Bridging gaps between citizens and the bureaucracy – Part 1

This is the seventh part of an eight-part series on the challenges and life hacks in experiencing and accessing government benefits and services. 

Since the last two months we have been sharing stories  of common citizens who attempted to avail rightfully owed benefits and services with varying degrees of success.  Each story is set in a unique context but a couple of common issues unite these experiences. In this blog I will discuss two themes that kept emerging in the previous posts and how these affect both citizens and bureaucrats.

Issue 1: Digital illiteracy in Digital India   

Public services are being digitised across all states in India. Telecommunication networks are expanding and internet connectivity is improving but digital literacy is still in its infancy. Even if people have the access and skills to navigate the internet, they may still feel stuck because text on many of the government websites is in English and not in regional languages.

In one of our blogs about water woes in Delhi, we learnt that in the absence of knowledge around how to access or apply for a drinking water pipeline, locals invariably turned to local politicians. All the information, however, is available on the Delhi Jal Board website, but the locals were not computer literate nor did they have ready access to internet facilities.  In my blog, I shared the story of a man who also happened to be computer illiterate and had no access to necessary resources to access services. In his struggle to get his daughter admitted to a private school under the Economically Weaker Section quota, he ended up relying heavily on his employer’s goodwill to help him get critical information at all stages, apply for admissions and also lodge his grievance – all done online.

Among other issues raised in the blog on challenges around the effective implementation of Aadhaar in a village in rural Madhya Pradesh, the rise of technically sound middle-men who charge a small fee to ‘help’ out village folk was a major one. They make use of these intermediaries when they need to access or update their registered online information.

The cost of digital illiteracy is partially borne by bureaucrats themselves. Officers spend a disproportionate amount of time dealing with the public on a daily basis over petty matters.

The cost of digital illiteracy is partially borne by bureaucrats themselves. Officers spend a disproportionate amount of time dealing with the public on a daily basis over petty matters. This could be easily resolved if citizens are digitally literate and the content on these websites is available in regional languages. This would free up bureaucrats’ time and allow them to focus on their core tasks, and also directly address the next issue.

Issue 2: Grief around grievance redressal

Are grievance redressal mechanisms just an added layer of bureaucracy which must be tackled before one is to access services or benefits? This is one question that the reader may be left with after reading the blogs in this series. 

We describe how a man from Bihar ended up organising a protest to grab the Department’s attention to the issue of the people who were not getting their due rations under the Public Distribution System. He and his compatriots took this extreme step after the Department officials continued to ignore their formal complaint which was lodged earlier with the Food & Consumer Protection Wing. Their efforts bore fruit but raised questions around the efficacy of having the grievance redressal wing in the first place.

Back in Delhi, calling on the Delhi Jal Board helpline and lodging formal complaints with the Department to access drinking water pipelines prove to be a dead-end for the area’s locals. Water tankers continued to provide water in this area and that too of substandard quality (this was a stop gap arrangement made by the efforts of their MLA, according to the locals). After repeated attempts at seeking redress, the locals seem to have accepted this as their fate.

In a third instance, the Education Department in Delhi set up its grievance redressal portal for issues around EWS admissions (portal is entirely in English though). The applicant got a response within a week’s time which was very helpful. But one doesn’t know if the speed with which the government responded was an indicator of the Department’s general efficiency and rate of responsiveness or to the fact that education (and admissions under the EWS quota in particular) is an area of political focus.

When a query is filed under the RTI Act, the inquirer gets a time-bound response because departments are legally bound by the Act. This is not the case with most grievance redressal mechanisms.

In another blog we explored how important the Right to Information Act has become to get the state to respond to citizen’s queries. A man filed RTI applications upon pre-empting an issue in his area. The state responded within 30 days as it is legally bound to do so under the Act. There was backlash against his RTI ‘activism’ but he ultimately got the right officials to address the problem before it escalated.

When a query is filed under the RTI Act, the inquirer gets a time-bound response because departments are legally bound by the Act. This is not the case with most grievance redressal mechanisms. The draft of the Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 continues to languish in Parliament. The status and efficacy of various state level grievance redressal mechanisms can and should be questioned. The time is ripe to carry out research into how complaints submitted on various grievance redressal portals are processed, and where the bottlenecks lie. 

In part two of this blog (and the last one in this series), we will sum up the “hacks” applied by the protagonists in this series, and way forward to address the issues discussed above.