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Guest Column
Indian TV and better governance
The IT explosion of a supernova is so
much moonshine for social good in this country unless
it synergises with TV. What the two Chief Ministers,
Andra Pradesh's Chandra Babu Naidu and more lately Karnataka's
S. M. Krishna are trying to do, relies on IT without
TV. Only TV can complete a process where the good of
government is seen transparent, responsive and continuous.
How, you ask? Simple. Every public figure
elected and selected should have a website. Politicians
and bureaucrats can then be accessed after they put
online what they mean to do. The Irrigation Department
of the Gujarat State Government will have on its website
details of farmers to be resettled after their lands
are taken by the Sardar Sarovar Project. The Collector
of every District reports weekly on progress. After
a decent interval when the oustees are still destitute,
the Minister, Secretary Irrigation and Collectors concerned
are called on TV to explain. The Narmada Bachao Andolan
can do the questioning armed with specific facts and
figures and haul up the State Government for Contempt
before the Supreme Court whose directions in the matter
are supposed to be implemented.
The official Doordarshan may be wary.
The Private Channels then step in. Enough material will
be at hand in every such instance to question the governments
of both the State and the Centre. Now, Rajat Sharma
and his ilk of public prosecutors on TV legitimise charlatans
who no matter how serious the scam, claim either political
vendetta or the umbrella of matters pending in court.
No TV host does enough of home work unlike Tim Sebastian
of Hard Talk on BBC TV. Every senior civil servant and
minister can run huge rings round any TV personality
who is a wet behind the ears liberal going with popular
prejudice without any facts in hand.
Not that ill informed persons in the
TV Studio audience are any better. Their general questions
are easily fielded by the professionals in public life
since in-depth probing is seldom done. Even the Comptroller
and Auditor-General at Delhi and the Accountant General
of each State merely do test audits of public money
that goes down every drain in to huge rivers.
From the Taluka Tehsildar (local government
head) and the Panchayat Samithi (local village committee)
Chairperson to the Prime Minister (Why not the President
of the country as well?) if each has a website and hits
on it not answered satisfactorily, then there will be
enough body of evidence for the transgressor to be put
on TV.
Our pussy footing Private TV Channels
will be a lot better for such programmes. Take this
huge present catastrophe in Orissa. Once the communication
links are back with every District Collector, a website
can collate details of money and materials sent from
all over India (and the rest of the world), where exactly
this was used and if not used, why not. Officials and
Ministers should appear on TV with specific details
of printouts of restoration of normal life and help
given to those affected. Mere details of aerial reconnaissance
and army clearing of dead bodies will not do.
It is a fresh lusty baby. Indian TV is
an adult whose maturity is suspect. Let the second adopt
the first. A new website like Indiantelevison.com can
ease a relationship that will have its problems all
the way though.
All solutions of this dramatic kind,
need a lot of qualification. Only influential sections
of our population have, as yet, access to IT. With Cyber
booths waiting to explode as the STD/ISD/PCO telephone
connections have done every where, the fate of every
paid official and elected representative riding on the
gravy train, will be insecure. Unless they deliver to
a questioning public.
After you tell online the Ward Officer
of a Municipal Corporation that the street lights near
your house do not work, you can demand an explanation
a few days later. The Mayor of a city can be asked for
details of a sewerage contract given, as usual to a
favorite nephew or niece. If he does not explain online,
he can be hauled up before TV cameras on regular programmes
for those on such a "hitlist".
Unfortunately, "Most Wanted" programmes
of criminals have gone many paces backwards with the
death of Jill Dondo of BBC TV. Hopefully, the need to
catch crooks by telling you and me they may be our neighbours,
has come to stay.
It is not about dating on chat line and
TV should not be about shaking the pelvis at all times
of the day and night on routine entertainment. Unless
good governance is a quick fall out, we will be singing
all the way to early bankruptcy in public life.
-S. Shankar Menon
sshankarmenon@hotmail.com
The author is a former additional
chief secretary, Government of Maharashtra and is an
executive advisor to Indian Television dot com the most
comprehensive vertical industry portal on the Indian
television business.
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