Govt needs to focus on trimming extravagant costs
Every time a new party comes into power, one of the most predictable things that gets spoken about is that of trimming costs, especially what would be considered as ‘extravagant’ in normal parlance. But all these talks bit dust few months later, is the bitter truth. CM Kumaraswamy has instructed chief secretary to ensure extravagance in terms of money should be brought down. This is the most welcome move. His commitment is indeed honorable.
New ministers splurging on renovation, new car, television, household goods, furniture and remodeling of even official residence is ugly but a normal practice by now. People do not hesitate to even spend crores of rupees to make their govt residences vastu complainant. This is sure to damage CM’s commitment to bring down exorbitant spending.
After the coalition government came into power, ministers have started conducting pooja, homa and havanas in their offices and have been renovating their places of residence. This work alone has cost Rs 20 crore by now. Though some ministers were part of the previous government as well, even they utilized money to carry out works at their house as per vastu or any other aspect they place their trust in. When BJP’s Jagadish Shettar was the CM, the chief whip of that party had demolished a wall in their office at Vidhana Soudha, and then built it again as per the vastu advice. Carrying out homa, Havana and other rituals in Vidhana Soudha is the ultimate insult we cause to the democracy. One may have them at their personal residences which is a closed space. Not only ministers, even officers renovate offices when they assume new posts, to give a modern touch to their workplace. New lamps, toilets and upholstery cost quite a bit of funds from the govt exchequer.
CM Kumaraswamy was chosen by people for his promise to waive off loans of the farmers. His govt has to collate resources to be able to execute this promise which would cost close to Rs 53,000 cr to the state exchequer. Just telling his ministers and officers to cut down on exorbitant costs would not do any good unless the CM instructs them in unambiguous terms as to what is allowed and what isn’t. CM has not occupied his official bunglow, and continues to live in his private residence in JP Nagar. He is travelling by Air India whenever the need for travel arises. The rest of the ministers too need to focus on staying simple on many fronts.
The tax money that gets spent on unnecessary costs and expenses does not send the right message about the new government to the people of the state. CM and his ministers are just caretakers of the whole state. They need to be transparent in all aspects of their tenure in the government. The lakhs and crores they spend on office renovation, should actually be reserved for welfare programmes of people.
The new government should not only focus on bringing down exorbitant costs but also ensure the number of Boards and Federations are also trimmed as per the need, since they are often seen as rehabilitation centres for those who want to use official power and resources without contributing much. There are nearly 90 Boards in the state, and about 75% of them are bleeding bad. They seem like white elephants that need a lot of money to maintain with no exact outcome or contribution to the state. The government needs to take a bold step to shut them down. The Academies and Authorities that do not contribute to any growth of the state whether in terms or identity, heritage or any other tangible aspect, also need to be dealt with iron hand. There is a lot of duplication in these small units that carry out similar work. Hundreds earn salaries through these bodies that serve no tangible purpose.
A strong decision regarding cutting down on expenses was taken when UPA government was in power. NDA government continued this practice as well. Officers were instructed not to travel by first class, and more such extravagant expenses were brought down.
If CM Kumaraswamy needs to waive off the farmers loans, he needs Rs 53,000 cr for the purpose and half of this needs to come from the central government. Whether central government contributes for this purpose or not, the state will have to carry out its commitment without fail. Hence all the unnecessary administration costs need to be brought under strict monitoring and the financial resource will have to be put together to provide relief to the farmers. A strong political will is needed to carry out this assurance the CM had given to his people. They need to shun extravagance and lead a simple life for the larger good, and to be appreciated by people of the state.
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MP: 7-year-old girl raped and murdered; minor relative detained
Barwani (MP), Jan 28 (PTI) Police on Wednesday detained a 17-year-old relative of a seven-year-old girl in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh for allegedly raping her and killing her by throwing her into a canal, a police official said.
Superintendent of Police Jagdish Dawar told reporters that the body of the child was recovered from the Indira Sagar Canal on January 26, following information from residents of a village in the Rajpur police station area of the district.
He said the post-mortem report concluded severe injuries to the girl’s private parts and attributed her death to drowning.
Dawar said a 17-year-old boy, a close relative of the girl, has been detained in connection with the rape-murder.
The teenager told the police that he kidnapped the girl from her home on the night of January 25 while her family members were asleep, took her to a nearby canal and raped her, according to the official.
When the girl started screaming during the sexual assault, the minor boy allegedly threw her into the canal, with the intention of killing her. The child drowned in the water body, the official said.
The detained minor will be produced in a juvenile court.
A case has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and an investigation is underway, he added.
