Let me come straight to the point. Continuous rise in prices of petrol and diesel has a ripple effect on the wholesale and retail inflation .Petroleum ministry seeks to justify this on account of global crisis,on which it has no control. I am not an expert. But, the argument seems largely fallacious.
Let the Governments at the Centre and States take some innovative steps by way of austerity measures, on which they have control. No instructions have been issued by the laidback Finance ministry to limit expenditure on petrol and diesel.Ministers ,bureaucrats and public sector executives rampantly misuse the facility.No restrictions, no accountability.
Another suggestion for Government’s consideration.PM Modi has always laid stress on having a smart bureaucracy.Having a slim-trim bureaucracy will eliminate unnecessary drain on public exchequer. Ground realities are, however,different. Failure of bureaucrats who are good advisors but bad implementers.
Ministry of Finance is expected to be pro-active in curtailing its non-productive expenditure.
To have a smart bureaucracy at the Centre and States, for instance, posts of Directors,Addl Secretaries, Principal Secretaries,Addl Chief Secretaries etc are redundant. Similarly, posts of Addl Commissioners,Joint commissioners, DDGs,ADGs are being created in several ministries under garb of Cadre restructuring. No one cares to examine whether there is matching increase in responsibilities and workloads..
Worse, posts of consultants are being created at the Centre and States with impunity to favour the favourites from outside or rehabilitate the retired bureaucrats. This is a big scam introduced during the UPA regime,that continues till date.This is no way to create employment.
Services delivery mechanism continues to be hopeless due to failure of Right to Services Act. Penalty clause is never invoked Public would be comfortable with a lean,thin and smart bureaucracy in this digital age.But, accountability is imperative. Maximum Government means Minimum Governance and Maximum corruption. Political Executives and bureaucracies across the country, are expected to lead by examples Political rhetorics may not impress the gullible voters.