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Citizen centricity is the essence of any vibrant democracy and is inextricably linked to good governance. Good governance basically means creating an environment in which all classes of citizens can develop to their fullest potential. Italso means provision of public services in an effi cient and equitable manner to citizens. InIndia, the Constitution lays the foundation for promotion of citizen centric governance. It provides for fundamental rights that are the hallmark of our democracy and mandates the welfare of all citizens through a set of Directive Principles. Based on the principles enshrined in the Constitution, India has developed an elaborate legal and institutional framework for ensuring good governance to its citizens. While the demand side strategies are geared to giving citizens' groups a greater role in governance, the supply side strategies aim to reorient government organizations to make them more efficient, effective and participative.India’s North Eastern Region consisting of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim is a rich mosaic of diverse customs, practices, terrain, climate, ethnicity (over 140 major tribes out of 573 in the country), institutions, land systems, languages and cultural norms. The area is geographically divided into discrete plains and regions encompassed within hills, having a number of agro-climatic zones within them. Almost the whole of it is characterized by heavy precipitation (200 mm to 600 mm), rich bio-diversity, fragile hills, high seismicity, and a drainage system marked by extensive lateral valleys in the north and transverse valleys in the south. The terrain is dissected by perennial rivers and raging torrents and the relief varies from less than 50 metres to more than 5000 metres above the mean sea level. Communication in the area is difficult and expensive.Natural Resources and Constraints 9 5.2.1 Hydro Electric Power PotentialThe region has the potential to generate 63257 MW of hydel power (42.54%), against an estimated 148701 MW for the whole country. Arunachal Pradesh alone can generate as much as about 50328 MW - around 80% of the total hydro-power potential of the NER and 34% of the total potential of the country5.2.2 Forest ResourceThe forests of the North Eastern Region face unrelenting pressures from the increasing population and galloping development needs. It has resulted in alarming levels of degradation and deforestation. Over-exploitation due to the shortening cycle of shiftingNatural Calamities 5.2.3.1 The entire North-East Region suffers heavily on account of floods and landslides. Damages caused by floods, which assume an alarming proportion, in the Brahamputra and Barak Valleys of Assam, exert considerable strain on the economy not only of Assam but also of other North Eastern States.Agriculture, horticulture and related activities could be the prime movers of the region’s economic growth and hence should be the focus of development planning for the whole of this area. The Vision Document 2020 of the North Eastern Region prepared by the Ministry of DONER and North Eastern Council has identified 9 critical areas which need priority attention for bringing peace and prosperity in the region by the year 2020a) Catching up with the rest of the countryb) Bringing structural transformation in the economies c) Poverty alleviation d) Maximising self-governance e) Harnessing resources for the benefit of the people f ) Building capacity in people and institutions g) Strengthening infrastructure h) Creating a centre for trade and commerce i) Effective governance : establishing peace and harmony The Vision 2020 document in respect of the North Eastern Region has aptly noted that ‘Insurgency and underdevelopment, especially unemployment, feed on each other. Poor governance, corruption and economic performance sustain conditions for insurgency and alienation.’ The document has further noted that ‘not less than 40 armed groups function in seven States, although only a clutch are dominant and powerful enough to make a substantial impact. The smaller ones function often either as extortionist rings or as part of a network of informers and rent collectors for the bigger ones...’ ‘Many of the armed groups are widely viewed in the NER as extortionists who have lost public support and have become, in the eyes of many, illegal enterprises which prey on fear and vulnerability and profit from extensive corruption, rent-seeking and poor governance’. A good law and order situation is a necessary condition for a robust economic development. It is also necessary for good governance as insurgents seek to intimidate public servants and interfere in political processes. the Commission would specifically like to recommend the following ( use 6 principles against terrorism in a modified form )i. Need for continued political dialogue:Political dialogue to address genuine and legitimate concerns will need to continue. The experience of Mizoram, where peace was established through negotiations after years of insurgency is an example of what is possible through sincere, wise and good faith dialogueii. The police must act to uphold the law.The police is an instrument of the State Government and maintenance of law and order is the responsibility of the State Government.had recommended that law and order problems must be handled by the State Police with the Armed Forces in the background.iii. Diplomatic efforts:Diplomatic efforts aimed at controlling cross border movement of insurgents have yielded good results in the past. For example, the denial of sanctuaries in Bhutan to insurgents in Assam contributed to improvement of law and order in that State. Enhanced Role of the Union GovernmentWith the exception of Tripura and Sikkim, all the hill States abut Assam, as they were carved out of Assam. There are a number of boundary disputes which every now and then erupt into confrontation between people and between States. Boundary disputes cannot be left to the States to manage and the Union Government has a significant role in steering agreements. Boundary disputes often distract attention from more fundamental concerns like insurgency and should not be permitted to occupy centre-stage. In order to decentralize governance, the Nagaland Government has made innovative use of the “social capital” prevailing amongst its people. It has enacted the Nagaland Communitization of Public Services and Institutions Act 2002 commonly called the ‘Communitization Act’. The intention is to improve the quality of various services being provided by the Government to the citizens by involving the community and by transferring control over the schemes/services to the actual beneficiaries. The legislation provides for the State Government to delegate its functions, including control over the personnel, involved with the ‘delegated services’ to such authorities. Village Authorities can be invested with the functions of local authorities under the Act. This step has made a very positive impact on the functioning of many of the development programmes and brought an overall improvement in the quality and speed of services and even more important, in making the communities realize that they can make a positive contribution to their own development. An important result of the communitisation experiment is that the benefits of this initiative have spread to the urban areas where the traditional patterns of tribe specific community organization are not very significant. It may be noted that the model is analogous to the scheme envisaged in Article 243G (read with the Eleventh Schedule) of the Constitution which calls for a state legislation to transfer functions to the PRIs. 5.15.6.8.2 The Communitization Experiment has brought allround improvement in a large number of projects/schemens which deal with education, water supply, roads, forests, powers, health and sanitation and welfare schemes in the entire state. It has empowered people and increased efficacy and transparency in governance.Within these broad outlines, the following issues are of importance in sustainable financial administration of the State Governments. 1. Financial Delegation and Operational Flexibility 2. Avoiding Fiscal Profligacy 3. Expenditure Management (a) need to review relevance and utility of continuing programmes and schemes (b) ensuring expenditure uniformity over the year 4. Prudent Budget formulation – Realistic estimates and assumptions for budget preparation – Avoiding inaccurate and incomplete disclosure of financial situation – Public consultation in budget formulation – Issue of supplementary demands 272 273– Off budget and contingent liabilities – Multi-year budgeting 5. Revenue forecast and need for a tax research unit 6. Mechanism for internal control 7. External audit ................
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