Budget is the most impactful statement any government makes. It impacts almost all sections of a society in tangible forms. It is not mere rhetoric, it is something that touches the lives of people, informing their minute to minute needs. That is what makes the implementation of announcements made through budget extremely crucial to the success of a government. Conversely, if a government fails to turn into practice the very statements it makes on the floor of the House, its failure is writ large.
Sometime back, J&K government presented a budget that promised certain things to its people. Howsoever the budget was seen by those who favoured it or by those who denounced it, what matters now is its implementation. If the benefits of the policy framework or welfare measure envisioned in a budget reach common people, that alone would matter in the long run.
Last week Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a high level meeting at the civil secretariat to fast track the implementation of the key budget initiatives. As a follow up exercise it was good, but the story doesn’t end with that. We have witnessed it over the decades, in the kind of governance that exists in this part of the world that the best initiatives announced through policy frameworks, welfare schemes, or grand political rhetoric, fail to deliver results on the ground. The reason for this is that bureaucracy complicates it to a degree that it becomes non-operational. One thing that Chief Minister can do is to emphasis on the value of simplicity in operations. Ease of doing things is not just a political slogan, it is a governance value. Our officers usually think that if people get their things done in offices too easily it takes away from them some sense of control. That is not just ridiculous it is downright oppressive thinking. If the schemes envisaged, and announced time to time, are made simple and efficient in application, that can make real difference to the people of this place. In case the implementation process is not simplified, whatever the degree of follow up, it won’t create a substantial difference.
