Implementing District Good Governance Index

 

I f there is anything the people want from the Governments, it is good governance which encompasses transparency, performance, speed, accuracy and a robust decision making mechanism. Delays and postponing things are thus required to be done away with. Obsolete traditions and work culture that comes in the way of good governance being antidotes and stumbling block to the concept, therefore, need to be reviewed, revised and revamped. Constant researches, collating of information and data, identifying areas of importance, expectations of governance and actual realisations etc provide a spectrum of not only ensuring performance but to measure it as well or in other words, to put forth a comprehensive mechanism of computing an index to measure governance and rank them accordingly. To put it the other way, changes in and innovative approaches to functioning in various wings of the apparatus of governance can no longer be avoided to be adopted. UT Government of Jammu and Kashmir too is gradually embarking upon treading the unavoidable path of administrative reforms, Information Technology intervention in offices and departments, innovative and much required changes and the like – some of them undoubtedly for the first time -and in that context, adopting to implement District Good Governance Index is a step taken in the right direction. Indicators and parameters having been selected and identified after consultations with Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances of Government of India, as is uniformly applicable to many states having adopted the index model, and J&K Institute of Management Public Administration and Rural Development shall make the exercise more J &K centric. Covering all the 20 districts of the UT will open up a room for showing performance in ten different key areas and fifty eight identified indicators on a competitive basis. Going to start from January next year, status and levels of governance could be measured accordingly. Putting the same in reverse order, weaknesses and shortcomings too could, therefore, be known, corrected and perhaps accountability fixed. The moot question, however, is whether the inputs for measuring of such index are made familiar with the system, the inputs being the officers and other personnel manning the identified sectors as otherwise also in Jammu and Kashmir, it is observed that deficit of knowledge levels of various schemes or innovative programmes are coming in the way of the expected performance by personnel manning the concerned departments. Even, for example in many cases, familiarities about the details of the RTI Act are still not fairly known which is due to the fact that there are rare opportunities of imparting trainings and conducting of workshops for updating of the required knowledge about what new was going to be implemented and why. Perhaps, keeping that in view , midterm training programmes of officers of JKAS levels and those holding many key department of the UT are going to be held to be imparted the necessary trainings and have familiarities with the new concept. That would benefit them in other ways too as they are expected to handle further responsible assignments in the very near future on account of going to be inducted into All India Service. The overall objective of the new exercise is to ensure that quality and effective public service delivery mechanism and a culture of good governance took roots in the system as it is the human mind and will to do whether handling new modes or conventional ones that is behind successful implementation of objectives of good governance. In addition to that, regular review meetings and performance appraisal interpreting via standard formats in respect of good governance parameters – would lend due importance to the system and it will be known how the same progressed. Some of the important ten governance sectors identified being agriculture, commerce and industries, human resources development, public health, public infrastructure, social welfare, judicial and public security and environment hold their own importance and are therefore expected to be showing comparatively better results as now the officers and other personnel holding critical role management can be held accountable and motivated to do better which can be monitored regularly. Measuring governance is measuring efficiency in the system, it is measuring the norms of the citizen centric governance as citizens are the ultimate pivotal points related to governance. It is again a touchstone of the effectiveness of the leadership and foresight aimed at bringing about a turnaround in governance backed by effective robust laws, with a support base of strong institutions, targets oriented approach, financial discipline and stewardship, and last but not least, the flexibility of correcting the wrong and putting a bit extra effort that would give impetus to good governance. Eradication of corrupt practices in the system which impairs good governance hardly needs a peculiar thrust to be brought home to the endowments of changes and reforms to bring about district good governance index on the canvas depicting lot more and beyond conceptual approach.