A few days ago, I was just reading ‘Dainik Jagran’ (its at least better than TOI) while having my breakfast and my eyes got struck on a headline on the front page. It read “Basmati se mehenga ‘dhainche’ ka beej”. It sounded strange enough to continue reading it. But before pouring in the details, let me first explain you that what does ‘dhaincha’ mean and how to pronounce this word which grabbed my attention.
We all must have heard braying of a donkey. In our local language, we call it ‘dhainchu-dhainchu’. Same is the way of pronouncing ‘dhaincha’. Dhaincha is actually a green manure which is used to improve the fertility of soil. Our government has decided to distribute it free of cost to our farmers for their welfare. Hats off to them for thinking at least something for our downtrodden peasants!
So, the news caught my attention because it is associated with U.P. Seed Development Corporation, the corporation in which my father is an engineer. Now let’s come to the point. The best of the Basmati rice is available in the market for Rs. 50-55 per kg. easily and the cost of seed of ‘Dhaincha’ never went above Rs. 19-20 mark. Our Agriculture Department had to buy this seed and it did it with the help of U.P.S.D.C.. As we know that our government has a knack of buying everything at a higher price so without blemishing their reputation, they bought it at a whopping price of Rs. 54 per kg.. So without any humongous calculations, we can say that 35 rupees from the tax deposited by us is wasted per kilogram purchase of this seed. Not only this, the government bought 1 lac quintal of the seeds. This means that there is a straight net loss of 35 crores in the transaction. I’m not sure that how much this step will raise the condition of the farmers but anyone can easily conclude that the scheme seems to be quite beneficial for the bureaucrats involved in it.
Our officials can easily gulp down figures in crores without bringing it in anyone’s notice but the highlight of this scam is that the amount of money went into their pockets is close to 200% of the money that should have been actually allotted for this work. I can also predict that sooner or later, an investigation will setup against the involved officers and nothing will happen after that because it won’t be much difficult for them to vomit 1-2 crore from their bellies and the investigating officers will also swallow it happily.
We all know that same is the story in all of the government departments of our country. Just visit the nearest electricity department and you will get to know the ground reality. So, the ground reality is that only 33% of the tax that we pay to our government is utilized properly for the benefit of the voters. This is an issue which everyone takes lightly. Neither the government tries to curb it effectively nor do we have the zeal to do so. Actually, we are totally responsible for it. Politicians don’t have corruption in their main agenda because the voters are not sensitive about it. We have the tendency to vote to a party who assure us to fulfill our own ‘selfish’ needs. Everyone wants reservation for his own caste/religion. Everyone wants to have a PM/CM/MP/MLA of his own caste or religion. No one thinks to vote for a party which will put our money in a better cause.
Not only this, we are the one who is strengthening the roots of corruption. If we are caught by a traffic policeman, then we have two options. Either pay a heftier fine that goes to the government or put a ‘Gandhiji ki photo’ in the pocket of ‘hawaldaar sahab’. Then the bigger share of ‘Gandhiji’ will reach the pocket of ‘bade sahab’. Everyone exercises the latter option for saving both time and money. Once, I tried the former option and after getting the unforgettable experience of the epic battle that I fought to submit the fine, I swear that the next time when I will find myself in such a situation, I will silently fill the hawaldaar sahab’s pocket with lakshmi ji.
Coming back to the scam, it seems to be a scheme that will bring prosperity to the section of our society which really wants to prosper. So, what's wrong in it! Our tax payers don’t have much time to think about such scams because such ‘small-scale’ digestion doesn’t seem to effect their own digestion. Our farmers have an experience of 63 years of living as the poorest and neglected part of our society and they are quite used to it. Our politicians are not affected by it because it doesn’t affect their vote-bank and everyone knows that they are the one who are primarily involved in such things. But one thing I can say for sure, if we can somehow stop the improper utilization of this 67% of the money, then the face of the common man will change for sure.
In the end, here is a question for you to ponder upon. Who is the donkey in this ‘dhaincha’ scam or the other scams like this? The politicians and the bureaucrats who can easily defeat a donkey in terms of digestive power or the so called common man who isn’t even bothered about whether his money is utilized in a right way or not, or the peasants who are carrying the load of more than a billion ‘donkeys’ on their own shoulders and still can do nothing except braying. Think about it and decide on your own.
Let’s work for a better tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment