In the early days of this experiment, there was a dramatic improvement in the quality of service. Ordinary citizens soon became the strongest votaries of such reforms. For instance, there was a distinct rise in the popularity of the Sheila Dikshit government in Delhi as she introduced the public-private partnership (PPP) model in offering several civic services. This was largely due to the qualitatively superior experience of getting a driving licence or a birth registration certificate with relative ease and without going through the hassle of a long wait in cramped offices of the Delhi administration or dealing with unhelpful government clerks. Similar experiments with noticeable improvements in user experience and political gains for the party in power have been tried out with success in the last few years in several other states, like Odisha under Naveen Patnaik or Gujarat under Narendra Modi.
Yet, the initial euphoria over the transformational effects of the outsourcing model has died down of late, as the user experience has once again been undermined by the resurgence of the same ills that had earlier bedevilled the delivery of such services. Yes, the outsourcing model has remained intact and the private agencies continue to operate, but there is now a new-found cosy relationship between the government clerks that man the back offices of such operations and the officials of the private agencies dealing with the public. This has turned out to be an unholy alliance, giving rise to corruption in many states.
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Take, for instance, how the Delhi government's much-hyped service to offer driving licences to its residents has once again become a victim of a network of touts that operates with impunity in collusion with government officers. Applying for a driving licence or a renewal of an existing one is easy on paper. All that you have to do is to approach one of those outlets of a joint venture unit of the Delhi government and IDFC Limited to get your licence-related work done.
The problem, however, starts after you approach the outlet. On occasions, the computer system will not be operational or the dealing officer would be missing. As you come out of the outlet, you are likely to be accosted by well-meaning gentlemen who would offer you the services of getting your licence made or renewed at a small nominal fee. If you opt to seek such help, the gentleman will take you to a small kiosk and complete the formalities in no time. The missing officers in the outlet will suddenly reappear and get your work done. Your licence will be made or renewed after paying that extra fee.
The situation may not be very different in other states. The Delhi experience suggests how easily such public-private partnership initiatives fall a victim to an unholy alliance of those whose vested interests are hit by the outsourcing model of governance. The point to be noted here is that no model can be a panacea for systemic ills if there is no monitoring or supervision of its execution. It is naïve to believe that the public-private partnership model alone can help rid the system of corruption and improve delivery of services to citizens.
So, the first lesson for those experimenting with public-private partnership is that delegation or outsourcing of services delivery does not mean the government can abdicate its responsibility. Consider what has happened to the latest initiative of the ministry of external affairs to outsource the passport delivery services through a public-private partnership initiative. It took little time for the touts to detect loopholes in the new system and create new space for them to operate. It is difficult to believe that the touts operate without tacit help of those in the government, whose clout got eroded as a result of the new system. Thus, it is important for the government to keep strict vigil over the operation of such initiatives for them not to become hostage to vested interests or touts.
The second, and the more important lesson, is to correctly price the delivery of services being outsourced through such public-private partnership initiatives. The Delhi government renews a non-commercial driving licence for an individual with a validity of five years at a fee of Rs 270 only. The external affairs ministry charges Rs 1,500 for issuing a passport of 36 pages with a validity of ten years. These prices make it easier for touts to operate and appear affordable even after charging a premium on these fees for delivering special services to individuals. There is an urgent need for an upward revision of fees, after, of course, ensuring necessary safeguards for economically underprivileged people.
Without these two correctives, public-private partnership in the delivery of public services is likely to perpetuate the weaknesses from which the earlier system used to suffer. That would also amount to not using the new system with necessary safeguards and then debunking, as also rejecting it for the wrong reasons.