DailyPost 2515
THE ACHIEVEMENTS HYPERBOLE – SIMPLE VALIDATION FORMULA
Indulging in the achievements hyperbole is our favourite pastime, more so, by political parties & leaders and governments and the whole ecosystem that is associated with it. Largely they have used this as their sustenance, till the time they can and then vanish into the blue. The achievements hyperbole can also be called as a smokescreen created for the public and public domain, disabling then to see the stark reality. It is based on one way communication and narratives that cannot be validated. The measure is only figurative and is never expressed in terms of facts, data or measurements.
No project or scheme is partially achieved, all are achieved fully, of the right quality and also maintained in such a robust manner that the benefits of the scheme or service reaches the intended group fully. There are no complaints either. Newspapers are full of ads, the content barely known by ones who order for it, at times even the location of the pictures go awry. Government ads are another business and it a part of achievements hyperbole ecosystem. The launch of projects and inauguration of projects are a part of the same ecosystem. The speeches are tailormade for these occasions to fulfil the same objective. In the multimedia social media, electronic media and print media world, they are doing wonders.
If the facts and data are studied meticulously in a formatted manner, nearly 90% of all useless data / facts in the public domain and inside the legislatures would need to be called off. The achievements hyperbole’s cost to the exchequer is huge, wrong persons take the credit and the country is taken through a narrative that does not exist, giving bountiful results to the ones who scheme the hyperbole. A simple validation formula can puncture the hyperbole to eternity. You will not have to wait for one odd CAG report going public. Any scheme can be picked up and a few samples could be audited by surprise. The constitution of the validation team is at the core of it. Time as logically required should also be made available to them.
The Validation Committee should consist elected representatives with some knowledge of that field (ruling & opposition), bureaucrats who have handled such projects, domain experts, expert practitioners, the executing agency, researchers support, finance experts and users /citizens. The validation template and the formula have to be decided by them. It would cover comprehensively every aspect of the project /scheme. Time and cost overruns would also be included. Comparative pricing of similar projects would also be taken as reference at the unit cost level. It would cover financial, physical, quality, performance, impact, upgrade and robust operations and maintenance aspects of the scheme or project. Cost to run the scheme (the hidden governmental machinery cost) should also be looked into. Every aspect /activity / stage should have a data point, supporting formula based for on the ground measurements, financial details, masters to get the right connect instantaneously, with the ability to find relational data and analytics for accurate, final fully data enabled report. Duly approved this would be the only public domain audited and validated data that can be officially and even privately used. We have come out of the achievements hyperbole created for us to be lost.
PROJECTS AND SCHEMES HAVE TO PROFESSIONALLY RIPPED THREDBARE IN THE INTEREST OF THE CITIZENS AND THE NATION.
Sanjay Sahay
Happy Independence Day
Have a nice evening.