Inspired Model

The decision of the Government of India to recognize the efforts of former Nagaland Chief Secretary RS Pandey for the first Prime Minister’s Awards for excellence in Public Administration is good news for the people of Nagaland. The award—announced last year to recognize the extraordinary and innovative work done by the officers of the Central and State Governments—has been bestowed on Pandey for his initiative in enabling participation of the user community in the management of public institutions and services in the State of Nagaland as Chief Secretary of Nagaland. According to the award citation, “Pandey conceptualized and implemented the programme to involve user communities in fields like education, health and power. The increased attendance and enrolment at schools, improved availability of doctors and increase in treatment of patients and improved collection of electricity revenues as well as reduced power theft testified to the efficacy of the initiatives taken”. 

While it is accepted that the award is a due recognition for the administrative acumen shown by Pandey, the future success or failure of communitization itself will largely depend on the resolve of the Naga people themselves. And it is here that the eulogy heaped on the successes appears to be overstated. Nevertheless, it is also an opportunity for the State to position itself as a role model of good governance. In order to sell the idea of communitization to the outside world as a product of Naga ingenuity, every effort must be made to hone the practice of communitization within the State so that it remains a truly successful model of governance. This means that the current crop of administrators must also take the initiative in using the rich social capital to bring about better governance at all levels.

As far as the Prime Minister’s award for excellence in Public Administration goes, recognizing the efforts of officers at the highest level is definitely a step in the right direction and will hopefully go a long way towards reinvigorating the lackluster Indian bureaucracy. For the bureaucrats, having such awards should inspire them to work much harder for the service of the people. While the global mantra may be to have less government but in a country such as India the bureaucracy cannot be merely wished away. It will continue to have a role as the harbinger of social and economic change. As such the Prime Minister’s award should be welcomed as it is expected to challenge the civil servants in achieving greater merit in their over all performance for public welfare. 

Against this backdrop, it is also a suggestion that the Chief Secretary of Nagaland should continue the tradition he started last year by having a theme for the State bureaucracy. He may as well extend the declaration of 2006 as the Year of Innovation for the State Bureaucracy. The Chief Secretary should also continue the momentum he had brought about in overhauling the monthly meeting of Administrative Heads and Heads of Departments to make it more result-oriented. Departments should in turns be made to give presentations projecting their visions, innovative schemes, current activities and their achievements. The local media can likewise also play a constructive role in highlighting the achievements of respective departments.