Ranchi, April 25: The Government with accountability may be the buzz word for politicians while facing their electorate or while sitting in the Opposition but certainly not when they enjoy power. The story is quite relevant in Jharkhand, the State where the buck stops nowhere!
Seven months have passed since the incumbent Chief Minister Arjun Munda took oath with lots of promises and hope for the common people of the deprived and impoverished State. However, the state of affairs suggest the same old story that have not eluded Jharkhand since it was formed a decade ago.
The scenario of inaction is pervasive under the BJP-led Government. Incidentally, the feeling has percolated into the bureaucracy as well. “Nothing is happening. Files are piled up at the CMO (Chief Minister’s Office) without any movement. First there was Games (34th National Games) and now encroachment. The entire environment is very much confusing. No clear signal is coming out,” said a secretary rank official of a department.
The official was commenting upon indecisiveness on appointing members and chairman at Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), cramped by lack of complete decision making authority and stung by unending probes. The high profile recruiter of the State is currently being run by just two members; one of them is officiating as chairman. The file carrying list of probable candidates for the top has been gathering dust at the CMO for the last almost three months.
Similar is the story when it comes to take decision on crucial matters related to wiping out the stain of past irregularities. The Government after much reluctance tabled the Debashish Gupta Committee report on the floor of the House. The report was to probe allegation of embezzlement of money and dig on the State’s exchequer following the land lease extended to Tata at Jamshedpur when Munda was serving his previous term in the office.
The report was tabled on the last day of the Budget session, reason not difficult to understand, under immense pressure from the Opposition. Gupta in his report clearly advocated the cancellation of the lease extension and also seconded claims of losses to the exchequer.
——–Agencies