Inspector Raj – in full swing.
What do you call a person who is thorough with at least 18 enactments, takes examination on these laws from tough examiners about 37 times a year? An Indian business man.
“Though we have done away with the licence-permit-quota raj, the Inspector Raj still survives. Many entrepreneurs — especially those in the small and medium scale sectors — are routinely harassed and humiliated under this Inspector Raj.” – Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee addressing the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of FICCI in 2002.
Some time back FICCI conducted a survey – Inspector Raj and Administrative Reforms required for Indian Manufacturing and came out with some startling findings.
++ On an average, a factory/establishment is subject to 37 inspections annually by government functionaries.
++ Some factories countenance as many as 67 inspections in a single year.
++ Anywhere between 9 and 24 different inspectors (15 different officers, on average), inspect a factory in a given year, with the maximum number of visits in a single year being those of the Environment Officer, State Pollution Control Board officials, and Labour Officer.
++ The unwelcome officers are from the departments of
1. Environment
2. SPCB
3. Labour
4. Sales Tax
5. Excise
6. P.F
7. Enforcement
8. Electricity
9. ESI
10. Indl safety
++ visits by environment and labour welfare officials are the most frequent, most of them being either quarterly or half-yearly visits, with some environment department officials visiting a factory even twice in a month.
The poor businessman has to understand the intricacies of at least the following statutes:-
1. Contract Labour Act 1948
2. Minimum Wages Act 1948
3. Payment of Bonus Act 1965
4. Employment Exchange (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies Act 1959
5. Employees State Insurance Act 1948
6. Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act 1970
7. Provident Fund Act 1950
8. Apprenticeship Act 1961
9. Factories Act 1948
10. Weights & Measures Act 1985
11. Indian Petroleum Act 1934
12. Indian Electricity Act 1948
13. Indian Boiler Act 1923
14. Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act 1981
15. Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act 1981
16. Environment Protection Act 1986
17. Central Excise Act 1944
18. Sales Tax Act 1957
And answer correctly the questions put by the respective inspectors.
A recent ASSOCHAM survey is reported to have found that the number of inspections have gone up to 40.
Some of these inspectors are vested with wide ranging powers, including order of imprisonment (which ranges anywhere between 6 months and 7 years), sealing the unit, and stopping the operations of a unit. Other powers comprise imposing a penalty (which could be up-to Rs 1 lakh), disconnecting water and electricity supply, filing a case in the court of law, and denying renewal or canceling the operating license.
It’s a miracle that the Indian business man is able to do any business at all with so many government departments swarming all over him every minute. The FICCI survey has left out several other departments which may not be conducting regular inspections, but with which the businessmen will have to deal. Then of course there are the politicians, from local level to the national level, goondas, terrorists and trade unions to intimidate the businessmen. Yet he survives! We see only the survivors, we do not hear about the failure, the miserable, the victim, the lost businessman. On many occasions, all that it needs to kill a factory is a Central Excise raid and many factories have died like that.
In their over anxiety to enforce the government laws, may be the officers are killing the goose that lays golden eggs for the government, and the government pays them for that!
Today the Prime Minister is to inaugurate the 79th Annual General Meeting of the FICCI; May be he will have something to say about the Inspector Raj.
“I cannot forget the services rendered by the commercial class, but I want you to make Congress your own and we would willingly surrender the reins to you. The work can be better done by you. But if you decide to assume the reins, you can do so only on one condition. You should regard yourselves as trustees and servants of the poor. Your commerce must be regulated for the benefit of the toiling millions"
Mahatma Gandhi Speaking at FICCI's 4th Annual Session on 7th April, 1931