'Instruments of delivery need to be improved'

To alleviate the inequitable distribution of income, countries should sharpen the instruments of delivery and for that there must be reforms in the political and electoral system, according to justice M N Venkatachaliah, former chief justice, Supreme Court and chairman, Institute of Directors.

The points emerged at a seminar 'Governance - The Key to Ending Poverty and Pollution' organised on Friday by the Centre for Social Responsibility, established by the Institute of Directors. It discussed strategies that will provide an effective solution to both poverty and pollution.

Justice N Venkatachala, chairman, Karnataka Lokayukta said that the reforms in governance should be through internal as well as external empowerment of the delivery mechanism.

Internal empowerment like accountability and external empowerment like the right to know about the various programmes by various agencies should be ingrained in the system.

"Decentralisation of the administrative mechanism is one important step towards improving the functioning of the delivery mechanism," he said.

Stating that good and effective governance is key to alleviating poverty and pollution, he argued that probity, integrity and accountability in the public delivery system holds the key to human development.

Madhav Mehra, president, World Council for Corporate Governance said that globalisation has not brought in the trickle-down effect that was expected and the poor continues to remain poor.

Stating that poor are not a problem but a part of the solution, he said that the government should avoid subsidies and encourage people to stand on their feet. "Subsidies are the easy ways of getting things done," he asserted.

In his keynote address, Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, said that pollution is the problem in the cities and poverty, the problem of rural areas.

There is an increasing need for change in the attitudes of the people and citizens must inculcate the idea of caring and sharing. He criticised the idea of subsidies and said that subsidies kill the entrepreneurship in the person.