Everyday the papers carry at least 2-3 items about the Satyam episode and a lot has been discussed about the corporate governance, the role of independent directors and the accountability. No, I am not going to talk about all these things - But I am going to talk about something else which also revolves around these same core issues -
So when will the nation be talking of the accountability of the government, government offices, etc. Like the corporate sector,where we hold the CEO responsible for the acts of commission, omission, etc, why aren't we holding the Heads of the States and Country accountable. Let these people run their departments like a corporate entity - let there be a quarterly results published for each state like what the public limited companies do. The public limited company have the obligation to the general public to publish their accounts because the general public has invested money in their company. Aren't we all investing our money in terms of income tax, service tax, sales tax, etc and so aren't we entitled to these being done on a quarter on quarter. Let there be SLA and let their performance appraisal be made public.
Today I read a news item in the paper about red sand getting into the environment in one of the suburb of Madras because the corporation started the road work and later stopped it midway for want of funds. At the same time, in Marina Beach, for the past few months we are witnessing beautification work being carried out - The most funniest thing about this work is that they are relaying the paver stones on the footpaths which were good (no damage) and redoing with marble stones. if it is our house, whether we will spend money on replacing a good area just for the heck of it is the question. What I like about the US county system is the say the common man has on what the county can spend money on - here in India - do we have that freedom.
As a nation lets make ourselves accountable to our actions everywhere - whether it is house, office or government. If this becomes our way of life, that will be the Golden period of modern India. I pray for this to happen soon.
Comments
Nice post. I have an answer for this.
1.The public sector companies such as BHEL,BEL,NAL, Comptroller and Auditor General(CAG),who is appointed by president on very merit bases, does the audit of all the government offices. so if there is anything flaws in the accounts of the companies, they will come up. the parliament discusses this CAG reports.also the CAG report is public.
find more here.. http://cag.gov.in/
2.there is also called Public accounts committee. which is headed by person from opposition parties members,the PAC looks after all public money.
3.If the general Public is interested in something, then one can go for the RTI tool,the data is very much genuine.
Thanks for letting me about this. However, what I am suggesting is that let them release a quarter page balance sheet kind of statement which is understanable by all people rather than reams and reams of paper report,which we need to sit down to understand
1. elections: politicians will tell you that everyone else, CEOs included , can remain in office for ever. But they have to go back to the people every 5 yrs.
2. The opposition: they know the internals of the govt better than anyone else.
3. The media: Perhaps they hold the most important position of all. They can influence public opinion.
4. I agree with Nagesh RTI is a very powerful tool in our hands.