One of the factors hindering the exercise of responsibility of officials, it has been pointed out, is the expectation of a hundred per cent

correct decisions by Parliament, the press and the political elements, in the administration, reasonable degree of freedom to make mistakes in experimenting with creative ideas in administration is, therefore, urged in the interests of progress.

The proposals made by the Planning Commission and the O. and M. Division aim not only at improving efficiency in Government offices and securing a speedy implementation of decisions but also at achieving efficiency in the operation of public enterprises and improving the relations between the administration and the public.

The strengthening of arrangements for the technical preparation of Plan projects and their work schedules has been strongly advocated. It has been pointed out that information relating to a large proportion of projects included in the Third Plan is still unsatis

factory. A proposal has been made that planning for the Fourth Pian should be started almost immediately and a comprehensive time-table worked out for completing studies for the Fourth Plan projects during the next three years.

Considerable stress is likely to be laid in future on technical planning of public enterprises to fill the existing gaps. The Ministries concerned with industrial projects are likely to have strong technical planning cells, the Ministry of Finance a "projects co-ordination cell" and the major State undertakings design and research units.

Standing panels of technical consultants for different groups of industries have been recommended for the Ministries, so that the available technical knowledge and experience can be readily utilised by the Government in developing the public sector.

If the planned reforms are fully successfully implemented, members of the public

may hope to see a pleasant pattern of courteous behaviour in officialdom.

The Organisation and Methods Division has suggested that, as in other countries, India should devise national expressions such as "You are welcome," and that an effort should be made to drill civil servants in such behaviour patterns by holding special briefing sessions and distributing necessary literature. A courtesy curriculum has even been suggested for schools and universities. It is an uphill task, but can not be shirked.

Party Funds & Elections

There has been considerable criticism in the non-Congress circles, and in particular by the Swatantra Party Leaders, of the propriety of the Prime Minister visiting Kanpur in the last week of September to collect purses for the Election Fund of the Congress Party. Even the Prime Minister was not happy over the role assigned him by the Party Organisers, who had entered into advance bargains with the industrial and commercial interests of the city. The Prime Minister had to be the chief guest at the various At Homes and Dinners arranged by the donors of the Party Fund, and these have also been exploited commercially-a fact not foreseen by the organisers then, or even by the Prime Minister.

He referred to the subject in general terms in his various Kanpur speeches, and was in particular critical of the industrialists who subscribed to the election funds of more than one political party. The Prime Minister's remarks related to the decision of the two big industrial organisations of the country. At the annual general meeting of the Indian Iron & Steel Company held in Calcutta on September 6, the Chairman, Mr. Biren Mookerji, disclosing the Company's policy in respect of donations to political party funds during the ensuing general election, had said that the Directors felt that it would be in the interests of the Company if the amount the Company was able to contribute was given to the Congress Party, which had steered the country successfully through the past difficult and momentous years and, to an appropriate extent, also to some other political parties, which could play a healthy

and significant part both in and outside Parliament as an Opposition Party. The Tata Iron & Steel Company has been more explicit in naming the opposition party to which it wishes to contribute, besides the Congress, Mr. J. R. D. Tata, Chairman of the Company announced on September 7 that both the Congress and the Swatantra Party would get contribution from his Company. The contribution to the Congress, he added, would be larger than that to be made to the Swatantra Party.

The Opposition Parties, including the Swatantra Party, have been insistent that a ban should be put on the contributions by the Corporate sector to the funds of political parties, but the Congress Party has been opposed to this. The issue has been debated several times in the Parliament, and in particular in connection with the legislation affecting Company Law in the country. The issue again cropped up in the Lok Sabha on August 15 when the House was discussing amendment of the IncomeTax law. The Union Finance Minister, Mr. Morarji Desai declined to accept the Opposition suggestion that the new Income-Tax Act should specifically prohibit from exemption from income-tax of company contributions to political parties, adding that under the proposed measure no contribution to political funds had been specifically exempted from tax, and whether they should be so exempted was a matter of interpretation of the existing law.

The National Herald of Lucknow in its issue of September 9 has tried to put forward the point of view of the Congress Party in respect of Company contributions to political parties. In view of this Daily not only having been founded by the Prime Minister, but the general impression that it seeks to interpret the Prime Minister's views On many subjects (its management is under the control of Prime Minister's daughter and others who are virtually his nominees), it would be worth while to reproduce here the views on the subject expressed in it Editorially. The National Herald of September, said:

"Indian electorates for the legislatures are so vast that they cannot to bribed and

that is a guarantee of fair elections; even marginal votes can probably be bought only in municipal or other minor elections. There is some inequality in the present position of political parties, inevitably. The Congress has the largest financial resources that it manages to win elections. The opposition parties and independents, who are independent even of each other and know the cost of independence, have been pressing the Congress to give up some of its advantages which cannot be called unfair but which may lead to unfair results. The Congress has known defeat; if lost office and power in two states and hung precariously to them in two other states; several Congress ministers were defeated. This proof of vulnerability has provided no consolation to the opposition parties, and on the eve of fresh general elections, they are suggesting measures which are neither natural nor fair nor certain of results but are intended to ensure electoral equality. An amendment to the electoral rules moved in the Council of States to provide that expenses incurred by political parties on behalf of a candidate should be considered as part of the expenses of the candidate has been rejected. The amendment could not have ensured an easy procedure with tangible results, even if the maximum of election expenses prescribed for a candidate has been raised to include reasonable expenses incurred by a party. The Election Commission, after the second general elections suggested an amendment to the law to prevent candidates from spending too lavishly and it has been also suggested that, if the present provision of law could not be made effective, there should be no limit on expenditure. If the Government have not been able to act upon these suggestions, it is because there is no agreement on them and no provision can be made for ensuring the right amount of expendi

ture.

"Even after two general elections, the scale of election expenditure in India is an unknown, incalculable factor. The electoral law has rightly placed a limit on the candidate's expenditure. This leaves some advantage to the Congress in enabling it to contribute to the expenditure of a candidate within the limit on his expenditure. In some countries, there is a limit on the expen

diture of parties too, but it is not an easily verifiable limit. If, the Congress could win elections through organizing financial resources, there is much more money outside the Congress which could be used at least by conservative forces to defeat the Congress, and capture power. If, as a member of the Council of States said, a candidate standing for Parliament had to spend not Rs. 25,000, which is now allowable, but Rs. 3 lakhs, it would mean that for five hundred candidates for Parliament a party should mobilize at least Rs. 15 crores, apart from the financial resources that will be necessary for winning the majority of seats in the state legislatures. Nobody has made any charge against the Congress on this fantastic assumption or will ever make it against any party in future. The Indian electorates with adult suffrage and mass illiteracy, are too vast and make democracy somewhat indeterminate, but they have at least the virtue of making wholesale bribery impossible.

carry

"Apart from the elections, the political parties require funds for their normal work. In Britain, no party can manage to on its work unless it spends at least £50,000 a year and another £35,000 in an election year, funds of such scale that they cannot be secured by any minority party, and unless a party puts up a requisite number of candidates, it cannot pose as an alternative government and the electorate will not take it seriously. Conservative candidates find their money, which accounts for the large number of company directors and rich. university men who flock to it, for an ordinary election costs a candidate £500 with a great deal of voluntary labour or anything up to £2,000 without it. The Labour party spends on a general election something between £300,000 and £350,000 coming mostly from trade union contributions, small local subscriptions, bazars, whist drives and dances, and the party or local trade union finances most candidates. The Conservative Party spends an additional £100,000. In the United States, where big business is generally coequal with government, there are federal and state restrictions on the use of money in elections by candidates and committees. Two importants principle are observed in that country: political committees must keep the records of receipt and expenditure even to

minute details and must file complete statements; corporations are absolutely forbidden to make any contributions in aid of any political committee or candidate. The objects for which candidates and committees spend money are precisely laid down, though there are many common items of expenditure which are not covered. The federal laws on collection and use of funds are strict and the limits on expenditure are rigid, but in summing up all his expenditure, a candidate may include outlays for his personal, travelling and subsistence expenses, for stationery and postage, for telephone and telegraph services, and this gives him freedom for Inxury expenditure. In this country, the industrialists, who have not yet adopted even the Swatantra Party as their own, are the main investors, and they seem to be willing to invest in all parties, so that as a class or as groups their interests may be secure whichever party comes into power. It is difficult to deal with individual cases, but where there is organized action, it is easy to assess the character of the party by the interests which range behind it. It is necessary for the ruling party to avoid any kind of deals with any class of indus

trialists. The most obnoxious form of finan

cing parties is through foreign funds, and while there is no evidence of any such financing now, it is to be hoped that selling one's country by any party, for whatever purpose, will not become a factor in Indian politics."

Central Government Employees' Unions

The Unions and Associations of Central Government employees have won back their recognition lost following last year's abortive general strike. The recognition was restored on the eve of the threatened hunger strike by Mr. S. M. Joshi, General Secretary, and Mr. K.G. Srivastava, Joint Secretary of the All-India Defence Employees' Federation.

The recognition of these Unions of Central Government's employees was withdrawn following the general strike on July 12 last year. Among the major unions that were deprived of recognition were: National Federation of Posts and Telegraphs Employees, The All-India Railwaymen's Federation, the All-India Defence Employees Federation, the

Civil Unions.

were:

Aviation and the Central P.W.D.

In response to numerous representations made in this behalf the question of the desirability of restoring the recognition was examined by the concerned Ministries at a conference in New Delhi on August 30. Among those present at this conference the Minister for Railways, Mr. Jag jiwan Ram, Dr. P. Subborayon, Minister for Transport and Communications, the Labour Minister, Mr. G.L. Nanda, and Mr. K. Raghuramiah, Deputy Minister for Defence. But when questions on the subject were put him in the Lok Sabha on August 8, the answer given by him was that the question of restoration of recognition to unions and associations of Government employees, which had been withdrawn following last year's strike was under consideration and the Government's reply would be announced shortly.

Getting impatient with the Government's dallying, the two officers of the All-India Defence Employees' Federation, on September 12 threatened to go on an indefinite fast from September 15. But the need for Mr. S. M. Joshi and Mr. K. G. Srivastava, going

on a fast was obviated as the Government on September 13 announced their decision to restore recognition. This has given some satisfaction to the Unions and the National Federation of Posts and Telegraphs Employees had directed its affiliated unions to observe a Happy Labour Relations Day to mark the restoration of recognition.

Though a happy labour relations day has been observed much still remains to restore normalcy in the relations. The discontent arising from the action taken by the Government to ward off the strike to check it from spreading farther in July last year has not yet died out.

continued harassment of persons who had participated in the strike and deliberate efforts to smash trade unionism.

The Home Minister, however, claimed in the Lok Sabha on September 8 that action had finally been taken very sparingly against the employees for their strike activities. He said that according to the latest information orders of dismissal and removal passed against 170 employees and orders of discharge passed against 102 employees were now in force, whereas departmental proceedings were initially instituted against about 46,000 employees and 2,079 were dismissed or removed and 2,137 were discharged from service.

With the restoration of recognition of the unions of the Central Government employees the question of proposed legislation for a statutory ban on strikes by Central Government employees and the simultaneous formation of the Whitley Councils is likely to be postponed for 1962, that is, after the Third General Election. A Bill was drafted a long time ago and it has been considered by the various Ministries. Despite informal consultations and much advance preparation is bound to prove à when the Bill comes up for consideration it very controversial measure. This accounts for its consideration being postponed till after the General Election.

I. C. S. Officers' Salaries

The Union Government should have no hesitation in rejecting the proposal to reduce the salaries of I.C.S. officers to those received by members of the I.A.S. in certain categories of posts. Let it be said at once that equal pay for equal work is an excellent principle in itself and it may be that those in authority now regret the decisions taken at the time of the transfer of power regarding the service conditions of the members of the former imperial services. But the proper time to think of that principle was when the Union Government created the Indian Administrative Service and decided to provide for substantially lower salary scales and less liberal service conditions. Having spurned that principle then, there is nothing at all to be said for denying the members of the (Continued on next page)

The police force in the State of Uttar Pradesh has been severely criticised in a judgement delivered at the Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) by Mr. Justice A. N. Mulla, on a petition of apology by a police sub-inspector against whom Mr. Justice Mulla had earlier ordered action under section 195 IPC.

Accepting the apology of the sub-inspector, Mr. Justice Mulla remarked: "I say it

(Continued from previous page) Indian Civil Service fair-play now. Article 314 of course gives the I.C.S. officers and other members of the former imperial services a certain amount of constitutional protection. But the Auditor-General is said to have urged in a memorandum to the Union Government that an I.C.S. officer who fills a post that has been created after the adoption of the Constitution on January 26, 1950 is not entitled to a salary higher than what an I.A.S. officer receives in that post. He contends that the guarantees which the former imperial service members received apply only to those posts which were on the civil list before that date. Even if the AuditorGeneral's contention turns out to be valid and it further transpires that the existing disparities he has drawn attention to are in fact contrary to law, the proper remedy would be to change the law rather than reduce the emoluments of the officers concerned. It should not look as if the Government is anxious to wriggle out of commitments solemnly made at any rate, out of what were thought to be commitments by all concerned for the past eleven years. One way out of the constitutional predicament would be to refrain from appointing I.C-S. officers to the posts created after January 26, 1950. This would also mean that those who are in such posts now would be given the option of leaving their present posts to take up assignments that carry salaries under the old scale. That would satisfy the requirements of equity, but not of administrative efficiency. The Government should certainly avoid any step that would prevent it from sending the right man to the right job.

with all sense of responsibility that there is: not a single lawless group in the whole of the country, whose record of crimes is anywhere near the record of that organised unit, which is known as the Indian police force".

Referring to the police methods of investigation and prosecution, Mr. Justice Mulla remarked that there were officers "who make a mockery of law, and, instead of upholding the law, their main task seems to be to commit a breach of law.

Proceeding, he observed: "Unfortunately, their conduct is not looked down upon by most of their superior officers or this type of crime would not be so rampant. If the departmental heads would only frown upon such conduct and see to it that an officer who behaves like this will not be promoted in service. perhaps it would stop this tendency, at least to a certain extent. But most of the superior officers close their eyes even when such fabrications come to their knowledge, and I am prepared to say that some of them even connive by closing their eyes. If not by actual encouragement. Somehow, the police force, in general, barring a few exceptions, seems to have come to the conclusion that crime cannot be investigated and security cannot be preserved by following the law, and this can only be achieved by breaking the law. At least the traditions of a hundred years indicate that this is what they believe. If this belief is not rooted out of their minds, there is hardly any chance of improvement."

The court had ordered issue of notice

against Mr. Mohammad Naim station officer of Shahabad police station in Hardoi District, on the ground that he had fabricated false evidence with intent to procure conviction of an offience punishable with transportation or imprisonment. The court had found the station officer responsible for fabrication of evidence in a case of attempthad allowed the appeals of the accused and ed murder and house trespass. The court acquitted them.

Dealing with the evidence produced by the police in the court, Mr. Justice Mulla