The Hindu Business Line : Too many cooks

THE immediate thought that flits across the mind on reading reports of the constitution of the National Advisory Council (NAC) and its composition is that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government is heading towards what management experts call "paralysis by analysis" and "activity without action"!

The NAC headed by Ms Sonia Gandhi with the rank of a Cabinet Minister has been set up, according to a report, to "collate inputs from below on how the Manmohan Singh Government was implementing the commitments made in the ruling United Progressive Alliance's Common Minimum Programme". The first batch of 15 members appointed to the NAC consists of personages of unexceptionable credentials. They do not carry any party baggage and can be expected to be professional and public-spirited. So far so good.

The defect of their very virtue poses a danger that the NAC might actually put spokes in the wheels of the Government rather than act as a purposeful monitoring body.

Being, for no fault of theirs, somewhat out of touch with the nitty-gritty of policy making and the practicalities of execution of macro-programmes and projects, the members may be driven by an insatiable appetite for documents, papers and notes on the variety of subjects covered by the CMP which has left no part of national life — economic, social, educational, cultural, foreign relations, security — untouched.

Also, the members may have their own sets of priorities, seeking to pull the Council, and along with it the Government, in irrelevant directions depending on how vocal particular members are.

Further, each meeting of the Council will produce its own crop of queries and recommendations forcing the Government to be responding to them instead of getting on with the job.

Then, again, for each of the Ministries there is a parliamentary advisory committee making its own demand for data and information as part of the review of performance in accordance with declared policies and Budget allocations.

There are other standing Committees of Parliament for keeping a watch on public accounts, expenditure, working of public sector enterprises, fulfilment of undertakings given by Ministers in Parliament and so on keeping the Government on leash.

The National Security Council will, for its part, be coming up with its own prescriptions on security matters. With so many bodies to cater to, will there be any time for the Government to concentrate on its assigned responsibilities?

B. S. Raghavan