The Hindu : Freedom of Information only by 2004

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Freedom of Information only by 2004

By Roy Mathew

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DEC. 30 Making the Government transparent and accountable is stated as an integral part of the Modernising Government Programme (MGP). However, it has been relegated for implementation towards the end of the term of the present Government.

The report and recommendation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) president to its Director Board, which were approved by the Board on December 16, state that the enactment of legislation is a second tranche condition. An action plan to implement the legislation will be developed by the Government and local-self governments. Implementation will commence in sub-programme 2, which would be taken up only in 2004 or later.

The Government, the document says, will introduce social audit service delivery performance by assessing the experience of the people the service providers are intended to serve. The draft social audit policy is being subjected to wide stake-holder consultation and will be finalised during the first quarter of 2003.

The Government has prepared an asset renewal policy, which is being subjected to wider consultation with local bodies and other stake-holders. The institutional and funding arrangements to implement the policy and track its performance will be particularly important to ensure integration with the Government and local body priorities and with the service delivery improvement plans. The policy's recommendations to facilitate a trouble-free and regular asset renewal system include (i) amending financial rules to ensure that user charges and other local charges can flow back to maintain assets, (ii) encouraging maintenance contracts through build-operation-maintenance arrangements, and (iii) rationalising and making transparent the system of spares and consumables and their distribution.

Programme outputs: The key sub-programme 1 outputs are (i) an asset renewal policy approved by the Kerala Government and supported by an asset renewal fund and appropriate institutional arrangements to administer, manage, and monitor the policy; (ii) restoration of assets in priority areas; and (iii) establishment of an asset management system and policies to ensure that funds are allocated from the budget for future asset maintenance in priority areas where assets have been restored, it says.

Under sub-programme 1, the poverty unit, to be established in the State Planning Board, will (i) establish a new poverty database for the State; (ii) introduce systems and processes to ensure that the database is updated through regular validation by the community and Government processes; (iii) track the performance of the Government and local body initiatives to reduce poverty; and (iv) manage the quality, accessibility, and timeliness of the poverty database. The poverty unit will make the database available to organisations that help reduce poverty and provide subsidised services to the poor.

A study is to be undertaken by the Government on restructuring subsidies for index-based entitlement, that is expected to be completed by June 30, 2003. An anti-poverty sub-plan under the sub-programme 1 will take into account findings of the study.

Sub-programme 1 will provide guidelines to local bodies for coordinating all poverty-related schemes to ensure coherence and consistency, and provide training. It will produce a strategy to increase the access of the poor to credit, while sub-programme 2 will implement the strategy.

Key outputs will be an effective system of monitoring poverty, local anti-poverty sub-plans backed by funds and systems to track performance, and sound and transparent information on subsidies to facilitate resource allocation and improve the targeting of subsidies. New policies would be developed to strengthen policy making, it adds.

The Government has over 17,000 surplus staff and over 5,000 that need to be transferred to local bodies. A surplus staff committee has set a target of redeploying at least 20 per cent of the staff in sub-programme 1.

Infrastructure projects: The Government has prepared a policy to review and close long-pending infrastructure projects in several sectors, including irrigation, roads and water supply. The initiative is to close nonviable long-running (over 5 years) infrastructure projects on the basis of sound criteria and evaluation by a multi-disciplinary team and the consideration of a committee set up for the purpose. At the end of sub-programme 1, a plan for termination of long-pending projects in Water Resources and Harbour Engineering Departments, which have been evaluated by expert teams and recommended by the committee as unproductive, will be approved.

The Government has prepared a concept note for a computerised payroll and personnel management system to replace the manual system. The personnel records sub-system will become the primary information base for managing the redeployment of surplus staff. The system will be introduced initially in the Secretariat, including the Commercial Taxes Department.

On October 1, 2002, the Government approved an action plan to address the major constraints facing local bodies. Key elements of the action plan will be implemented in sub-programme 1. The outputs will include (i) measures to rationalise, dissolve and merge parallel bodies and institutions that are in conflict with the mandate of local bodies; (ii) transfer and integration of the various Centrally-sponsored schemes to local bodies; (iii) ensuring that critical vacancies and shortages in technical and specialist staff are solved by transfer of surplus staff, direct recruitment, or out sourcing; (iv) establishment of basic systems and processes for effective financial management; and (v) completion of the transfer of staff and services, including transfer of the rural water supply schemes after rehabilitation using the asset renewal facility. The procedures for the transfer of the budgets relating to salaries will also be finalized in sub-programme 1, with the actual transfer envisaged under sub-programme 2. A submission has also been made to the Council of Ministers to lift the 1999 stay order to abolish district rural development agencies and redirect funding from the Centrally-sponsored schemes to district panchayats. Council approval of the submission will be a powerful positive signal of the Kerala Government's commitment to decentralisation.

The Second State Finance Commission, in its report in January 2001, recommended many important measures, including inter alia, the following: (i) measures for local bodies to raise their own revenue, (ii) streamlining of Government grants; and (iii) a maintenance fund for asset renewal. A sub-committee of Secretaries was especially constituted to review the report. The Kerala Government will decide on these and other recommendations of the commission for implementation, in sub-programme 1.

Financial management: The Government has prepared a policy to build financial management capacity in local bodies. The policy is being converted into a detailed plan for implementation in sub-programme 1. The policy has four inter-related components: (i) legislative provisions, rules, manuals, Government orders and circulars; (ii) setting up of simple and effective operating systems; (iii) institutional arrangements for training delivery; and (iv) human resource development.

The Government is establishing a functional review unit in the Chief Secretary's office, reporting to the MGP secretary. This unit will guide and steer the process of restructuring of the Secretariat and Commercial Taxes Department. Under sub-programme 1, the functions and structures between the local bodies and rural departments will be rationalised. Sub-programme 2 will focus on implementing the proposals to restructure the Secretariat. Functional reviews will be extended to other departments and agencies.

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