Public money is being frittered away in umpteen ways, by the Government, both at the Centre and at the States.

Day after day, wastes, scandals, and such other appalling blunders in administration are being uncovered, and the public is rather bewildered at the sight of those stinking state of affairs.

The major ones involving lakhs of rupees catch the public eyes, but the government is callous enough to defend the culprits. Instead of punishing them, Pandit Nehru and his colleagues, engage themselves in slinging mud at the accusing finger!

Pandit Nehru’s recent attack on the Bose Board, which had been appointed by the government itself, to go into the Mundhra deal, is indeed a devastating one.

Mr. Bose, a reputed member of the judiciary, had remarked in his report that there was perhaps, a quid pro quo in the Mundhra deal, as Mr. Mundhra had donated a large sum amounting to some lakhs, to the coffers of the Congress.

If Pandit Nehru had any fact to disprove such a statement, he might have shown it in the public and thereby implied that there was no such quid pro quo.

But on the contrary, he entered in path, unbecoming to his power and prestige, and commented on the statement in a scathing manner.

“Whoever he might be – a judge or anybody – it is foolish to conclude in that manner” - he remarked in a press conference some weeks back.

This remark has created great repercussions and there are many who detect a defiance to, and an encroachment in, the Judicial powers.

Of course, they have ample grounds for arriving at such conclusions – and it needs no explanation as to where such a trend would lead us to!

Many a political scientist, since Montesquieu, has commended the Separation of Powers and have warned against the combination of powers, of the legislature, executive and judiciary.

The encroachment of one functionary in the arena of another, amounts to combination and the move is not a salubrious sign!

Apart from this, there is nother aspect of the problem, which causes our concern.

If the culprits, who squander away the public money, are left unpunished, where is the security that scandals would be averted in the future?

In fact, Mr. H. M. Patel who was involved in Jeep scandal, has again involved in the Mundhra deal! Now again he is defended!

Emboldened at the government’s ‘reaction’ the corrupt men might become more and more corrupt! Integrity and efficiency in the administration would then become rare phenomena.

The following episode, beautifully reveals the blunders of beaurcracy.

Over a year ago, the railway authorities built a brand new platform and a booking office, in a suburb of Patiala. They posted a chowkidar to look after the place until the staff arrived, and bags of railway tickets stamped with the name of the halt, were duly dispatched. Yet until today, it is said, cows roam in the platform, the chowkidar has been sacked, the tickets lie unopened in the bags – and not a single train stopped there!

The reason attributed for not using the booking office is even more fantastic.

It was the outcome of the disagreement over the name of that halt. Originally, it had been decided to call it “RAGHBIRSINGPURA,” after a former Chief Minister of PEPSU, and this was stamped on the tickets.
Then as the locals objected, the railway authorities changed their minds and decided to call it “New Patiala”. They wrote to the local D.C. asking for the correct spelling of this name in Urdu, Hindi, and Gurmukhi. D.C., unwilling to take the responsibility, wrote to the Language Department of the Punjabi Government, and there the matter seems to have gone off the rails!

This ‘interesting episode’ costing the public coffers more than a lakh of rupees, bears indeed an irrefutable testimony to the carelessness of the administrators.

In fact, nobody can belittle the demand of the local citizens, to call the station by a particular name. Their demand is to be heeded to , but the government should have decided the name before printing the tickets, and erecting the platform and booking office.

Again there is another incident – an even more appalling one. At least in Patiala, the Railway authorities knew that the station lay unutilised.

In North-Eastern Railway, a machinery installed about three years ago is lying idle and the local railway authorities have been telling the Railway Board that all machinery was being fully utilised.

The list of the machinery not being utilized for some reason or other, includes two forging machines each costing Rs.60,000 – a heat treatment shop completed with the installation of modern furnaces at an expenditure of abut Rs.3 lakhs – four British moulding machines, each costing Rs.36,000/- and two hammers each costing Rs.1,54,000/-!

On the whole, the cost of machinery lying idle amounts Rs.8,72,000/-!

Is it not pertinent at this juncture to urge upon the government to bridle the bureaucracy and avert such sorry state of affairs?

(Sub-Editorial - 05-07-1959)