Last month I wrote about the Governments email coverthe anonymous designation email addresses bureaucrats hide behind, instead of the name-linked addresses the world uses. Few bureaucrats read their mail.

I got some quick response to this from bureaucrats. Youve over-simplifiedmy colleagues wont touch their email, whatever the email address. Some get their PAs to print out emails, give it to them in a file, and once in a while scribble responses to be typed in by the PA next week most ignore their email altogether.

Another said: It would be nice to have personal addresses. But how will you get us to use email? Why would I increase my work? Whats the incentive for me to take initiative or perform?

Well. After many pay commissions and hikes, there is still no performance based appraisal system for the bureaucracy, recommended for several decades, and a standard part of the corporate world. There is not much incentive to perform.

Heres a long and passionate response from a senior bureacrat:

With our economy growing at 9%, we face many related issues. When I joined the IAS over three decades ago, our finance secretary would tell me that it is easy to manage deficit, but very difficult to manage growth. That hasnt changed.

Prasanto K Roy pkr@cybermedia.co.in

zI believe that infrastructure and bureaucracy will be the biggest roadblocks to our growth story. Its possible to tackle infrastructure with todays tools, including the PPP model. But it is very, very difficult to handle the bureaucracy. Post 1991, major changes were expected, but we do not see much effect on the ground. This is an area of serious concern. First, there is the mindset. And then, no one wants to part with power.

With power comes the lack of transparency. After 60 years of independence, we now needed a Right to Information Act! This is ironical. Democracy is supposed to be a government of, for, and by the people. We are far from it. The RTI is testimony to how bureaucrats enjoy power and its benefits, by not letting the people know what is their legitimate right.

The gap is not technology. We have the tools. But e-governance first needs good governance, and that must be preceded by governance. We are not governing the way we should. Unless something drastic happens, our growth story will fall by the wayside. It will be a very sad day indeed, for after so many decades, I do feel proud when people look at our country with envy and wonder. The first three letters of eGovernance spell ego. Let us see how fast we shed these three letters!

I have little to add to that.

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