(3 Aug ’08)
“It’s no better than U.
P. or Bihar now,” friends told me. “Nothing moves, nothing works.”
Had Goa changed that
much in a year? I had a week to complete several tasks, and was hoping that
would be enough.
The first trip was to
collect a duplicate electricity bill from the office at Porvorim. It took me
ten minutes. The pace of the clerks was unhurried, but not lazy. The impression
was good. A notice said I could pay the amount at one of several banks in the
neighbourhood. It didn’t say I needed to have an account in them. Small detail,
could have been provided. The counter near the A. I. R. colony was quiet easily
found and that, too, was efficient.
The second trip was to
pay the tax at the panchayat at Sangolda. Again, the staff was unhurried, but
helpful. They chatted amicably whilst they took out the registers, filled in
the details, handed back the change. Do U.P. and Bihar work like this? Why do
we run down everything that the
government does? Daily, through the week, this thought came to my mind.
I had to renew my
licence at the R. T. O. To avoid the crowd I went early in the morning. The
staff was punctual and organized. As the licence had expired sometime back, and
since I had changed my address, I was asked to produce certain documents. Yes,
I had to make an additional trip to provide those, but the process was smooth
and I walked out with the new smart card. When I showed it to a friend who is
involved with several heritage-saving projects and NGOs and committees, she nearly
ridiculed the police department: “What’s the point doing all this? Can we
provide smart-cards to so many crores of people? Will it stop terrorism?” Sad,
that we run down any good that any government department does, without knowing
the thought processes behind them. We seem to see only the negatives. The cops
had asked me for relevant documents. Routine stuff the world over. Just because
terrorists get away with crimes, should ordinary citizens not be asked for
them? Smart cards will reduce paperwork, and if properly used, traffic offices
can be marked on them, they don’t fray and spoil, are difficult to duplicate
and easier to track than the older ones. I could feel the same resistance many
had to computerization of banks a few years ago.
The discussion then
went on to the monstrosities that are being built all over the state,
destroying the loveliness of nature. The same friend asked, who gave those
licenses, who allowed such awful things to come up? Whilst I agree whole
heartedly that those buildings really are ugly to behold, there are buyers who
believe they aren’t. That’s why those flats are being sold at exorbitant rates,
no matter how they look. Who will dictate which tastes are refined, what is
aesthetic? The buyers know that water, sewage, traffic, electricity are going
to be problems, but they don’t seem to mind. Are they morons? Unlikely,
considering the kind of money they’ve earned for themselves, if that is a
measure of intelligence.
“You
know, it’s the N. G. O.s and the activists that are making the right things
happen,” I was informed. Sure we need citizens to be active watchdogs. We also
need citizens to support any good the government may be doing. We need
volunteers who will strictly monitor traffic (let’s trust that they won’t be open
to taking bribes for they won’t be part of the government), who will help clean
the garbage (citizens must participate in municipal activities, right?), who
will help catch and thrash all criminals in the neighbourhood. Why is it that
the good always fear the bad and turn to the policemen in times of trouble if
they don’t trust the policemen in the first place? Why don’t they form really
tough neighbourhood/village teams that can flush out criminals and deal with
them at their level? “It’s the cop’s job”, some might say. True, but it’s
nothing works better than alert and active citizenry.
The week’s gone by,
I’ve got several jobs done quite speedily. Am returning pleased that Goans are
participating in governance. I have noted that there are lot of ordinary
government workers who are doing their jobs sincerely. Am not sure about their
counterparts in U. P. or Bihar. I will tell my friends that.
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