'5C's also hinder decision-making: Coal secretary Anil Swarup

NEW DELHI: Coal Secretary Anil Swarup has said that five institutions or "5Cs" -- CBI, CVC, CAG, CIC and the Courts -- create an "inhibiting environment" that impacts "quick and effective decision making".

Questioning general wisdom of blaming politicians for all the ills, the top bureaucrat said the pace of development is not as much impacted by the "dishonest" but by the "inhibiting" factors that prevent the "honest" from taking decisions.

In a Facebook earlier this week, Swarup said: "Pace of development is not as much impacted by the dishonest as by the inhibiting factors that prevent the honest from taking decisions."

A day later the Coal Secretary added: "Some individuals are 'incorrigibly committed' and hence they would perform irrespective of the objective conditions. This is not the rule. We very conveniently blame politicians for all the ills.

"However, isn't it true that the 5 Cs (namely CBI, CVC, CAG, CIC and Courts), contribute substantially in creating an inhibiting environment for quick and effective decision making that impact development? Ironically all these institutions are not occupied by politicians but by Civil Servants."

Swarup's post evoked reactions from the general public as well as from former and serving bureaucrats, with a former IAS official saying: "To my mind, negativity does not help anyone. As the Americans would say 'You got do what you got to do."

To which, Swarup said the idea of raising such issues is to evolve such institutional frameworks and correct the existing ones so that those that are not as "driven" but are reasonably committed are also able to deliver.