Promises garroted by red tape

Promises garroted by red tape
The Times of India

Bangalore: “Yes, it was promised in the state budget. But the funds were not released. So how do we begin construction of the hostels?’’

A social welfare department employee asked us during a pre-2006 budget check: How many prom ises were made in the last budget presented by then FM, former deputy CM Siddaramaiah on March 11, 2005, and how many of them were actually implemented?

There were 51 concrete promises in Siddaramaiah’s budget. A year later, 45 of them are still either “in process’’ or complete non-starters. Be it programmes for the urban commuter, the IT sector, the rural poor or the backward classes, they are all caught in a bureaucratic maze. The lesson for the new FM, deputy CM B S Yediyurappa, is: Don’t expect miracles. Bangalore’s BT park, promised in almost every budget over the last few years, remains only on paper despite Siddaramaiah specifically allocating Rs 6.5 crore for it. The Rs 40 crore private-public partnership programme to upgrade roads around Bangalore as well as the ambitious Rs 460 crore High Tech city — announcements in the 2005-06 budget — are grounded at various levels. Ironically, there is no urban-ru- divide when it comes to of action — both urban rural schemes have seen equally sluggish progress!
Some examples:

* CT scan equipment announced for every district hospital with an allocation of Rs 8 crore is “under the tendering process’’.

* Israeli technology in horticulture crop, with Rs 5 cr allocated: ‘We are doing a survey.’’ * The 36 half-built mini-Vidhana Soudhas that were to be completed with Rs 8 crore this year: “How can you expect it to get done within one year?’’

To an extent, the education sector has implemented budgetary promises: 114 new high schools in the most backward taluks, two of the six medical colleges are being set up.

And this one takes the cake: As promised, rural folk got free power up to 18 units. But the supply itself was hardly there.