The culture of impunity, termed as “freedom from punishment or from the unpleasant results of something that has been done” by Cambridge Dictionary, is pervasive and self-perpetuating.
Left unchecked, it becomes systemic and inimical to positive progression of any society or nation.
Nagas are acutely familiar with the term – literally and figuratively, shaped by political and historical realities. Such realities have been the subject of many studies and discourses as well as the lived experience of the people over the years.
Not surprisingly, the culture of being “free from punishment or other adverse consequences” has percolated into the social and moral fabric of the Naga society and for many, a normal practice. Its transcendence into governance and the State apparatus – the bureaucracy and the political executive et al, is thus natural.
In such circumstances, lack of accountability and a genuine feeling of immunity from corrupt actions seem to be the standard operating procedure. When such actions are left unaddressed or perceived to be ‘acceptable’ with lack of accountability and monitoring mechanism, the culture is reinforced and perpetuated.
The annual Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India audit report is a good case in point. 'State Finances' and ‘Social, Economic, Revenue and General Sectors’ are audited annually by the CAG. A thorough scrutiny of the reports is an ‘exercise in frustration’ and hoping for course correction by the violators or action against them, likewise, an exercise in futility.
The latest CAG’s report for the State tabled at the recently concluded 5th Session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly was no exception.
Among others, the report highlighted that as of March 2018, there were 29 cases of theft, misappropriation, loss of government material and defalcation in 13 departments resulting in the loss of Rs 178.96 crore for the state government. Recovery, if any, was minuscule. To top it up, till the same period, 255 Utilisation Certificates (UCs) involving an aggregate amount of Rs 865.30 crore were pending for submission even after a lapse of one to seven years by various departments. The combined total – a cool Rs 1044.26 crore, nearly half of the State’s total budget deficit.
Moreover, the CAG further noted that the accounts of the State Autonomous Bodies and Departmental Commercial Undertakings were not submitted to Audit for the last two to thirty-seven years due to which audit could not be conducted. The CAG flagged it as a “serious matter.”
“Strict compliance to the timelines for submission of the UCs by the recipients and failure to comply with the timelines should be scrupulously dealt with,” it recommended. It further called for initiating actions against erring officials to act as a “deterrent" in future in the cases of the misuse of funds.
Every year, however, such anomalies are roundly highlighted by the CAG. With casual but worrisome nonchalance, the anomalies are duly acknowledged by the concerned authorities; deterrence actions, however, are seldom executed.
This starts at the top. Customarily, the reports are accorded less precedence in the order of business and usually tabled on the last day of the assembly session. The political executive, ergo, rarely discusses the anomalies highlighted, and given a silent burial when the House is adjourned sine die. While local media consistently highlights the issues, most social, students, and other countless organisations maintain a deafening silence, as if to lighten the burden of Public Action Committee (PAC), the Committee of the Legislature tasked with monitoring the financial transactions carried out by the Executive.
For a society, supposed to be the progeny of ancestor known for practicing the principle of honesty and accountability as a way of life, normalisation of such actions have dangerous and adverse consequences. The arrival of Nagaland Lokayukta, as highlighted in a recent report by The Morung Express, gives a glimmer of hope. Only time will tell whether such optimism is sustained and justified.
The culture of impunity, nevertheless, must be quashed.
