Hyperdocumentation vs common sense

The main aim of public policy is to make life easier for citizens. In India, its purpose often seems quite different: to test patience, stamina and common sense. Or perhaps it functions as bureaucratic pilates - keeping the vast government machinery limber through constant paperwork. Consider this. From early 2026, Delhi government will replace pink paper tickets for free women's bus travel with a 'Pink Saheli' smart card. The stated goal is greater transparency and efficiency in a scheme that benefits nearly 2 cr commuters every month. Girls and women above 12 who are Delhi residents must apply for the card using their Aadhaar at designated counters, and then tap the card on e-machines to travel free.

Such costly plans are Kafkaesque. Why turn something as basic as boarding a bus into a procedural hurdle? How exactly does a smart card improve matters when simply getting on board by dint of showing one's Aadhaar - and being a woman - would have done the job? It's not as if women from Gurgaon or Noida will invade Delhi buses. And even if a few do 'slip in', what would have been the crisis? The larger public goal is to get more women outdoors, workforce included. Cheap, frictionless mobility helps. Forms, counters and proof-of-residence checks don't.

This obsession with documentation is no longer confined to big-ticket schemes like endless OTPs, repeated bank KYC, to SIR. Hyper-documentation is the new neurosis of digital India. Every odd citizen seems 'one document short', and every system assumes bad faith by default. With the new year, one hopes for a modest resolution: fewer counters, less suspicion, a little more trust. Benefiting from a scheme need not feel like an endurance sport. Sometimes, common sense is the most efficient tech.