Should there be a contradiction in word and action in the sense what is perceived as a problem, making a babbling to resolve it fast but in fact doing nothing about it. In other words, during the present days, when Corona pandemic has struck all around menacingly and brought lot many strains on the economy, revenues plummeting while expenditures keep going on fast and more demands for spending on relief and restructuring measures coming from across the country, Government spending on unproductive and unimportant projects seems unwise and un-prudential. Looking at from the angle of the difficult days we are passing through, a Coffee Table Book, therefore, appears to be quite optional, unimportant and uneconomical – at best any spending on its printing, captivating covers, inside contents, highlighting Government achievements in various sectors and fields etc could be termed simply as increasingly avoidable, if not highly ostentatious. Union Finance Ministry has, therefore, imposed a ban on any activity associated with printing, releasing and distributing these Coffee Table Books. There would also be no more printing of wall calendars, diaries, festival greeting cards etc for free distribution.
Let us see the other side of the problem, paper and its production, perhaps may be looking to be no problem at all but we must know that paper production means felling of the green gold, the virgin wood from trees like fir, eucalyptus and other soft wood. Paper production accounts for more than 35 percent of tree felling which needs at least to be contained if not stopped altogether which otherwise too is not possible. The ban by the Union Finance Ministry needs to be looked at from that angle more than that of saving expenditure on the avoidable stuff as “Going Green and Going Digital” are the requirements of the day. The ban coincides, though strangely at a time when the Government of Jammu and Kashmir was, sort of over busy in releasing one after another Coffee Table Books. Now instructions are from the Administrative Secretary of the Information Department of the UT to all the concerned officers to stop printing of the Coffee Table Books of their respective departments forthwith.
Not entirely in any lighter vein, publicity through these books at quite a whooping cost is hardly needed otherwise as achievements can never remain hidden like failures cannot. The same could be achieved through press briefings or issuing simple circulars.
It could be seen also in the light of the decision of the UT Government taken in May this year to go whole hog in coming up with as many Coffee Table Books (CTBs) as required to highlight the achievements in different areas, sectors and fields for which even Core Group headed by the Director Information was constituted followed by several KAS officers having been placed at the disposal of the said Group. However, nearly ten thousand of such books have already been released which have been printed by the private printers. We have reliably learnt that a few officers had, in fact, felt less convinced with the idea of the Government and instructions issued about printing and distributing these CTBs but had little option except following the orders. Not only avoiding huge expenditures and bringing in a culture of austerity but to promote digital initiatives and multipliers as also going green and saving trees and protecting environment, physical printing of the CTBs and associated material – physical calendars, diaries etc needed to be stopped which by the ban imposed by the Union Ministry has been made possible .
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