New Delhi, July 28: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today asked bureaucracy not to become "prisoner of procedures" as delay in taking decisions resulted in time and cost overruns. "I have often heard civil servants complain that system has in-built disincentives for taking decisions," Vajpayee said asserting that to execute the policies and programmes of government, one has to take decisions promptly for achieving the overall objective.
But senior officers are often afraid of possible audit remarks and shy way from taking commercial decisions in a timely manner, instead they play it safe, preferring to take shelter under procedures and technicalities, he said inaugurating the three-day conference of Accountant Generals.
"The executive becomes a prisoner of procedures, rather than an achiever of purpose. An atmosphere in which the auditor is on the offensive and the executive is on defensive is detrimental to good performance," he said adding in the absence of timely decisions, project and programmes become "victims of unacceptable time and cost overruns".
"You will agree that this, too, is as much a violation of the principle of accountability as any act of financial irregularity," Vajpayee said.
"Clearly a time has come to take a serious re-look at the accountability framework within which government-owned enterprises and senior officers in the government operate," he said, adding the system has to empower and trust the executive if they are to become dynamic for best results. Bureau Report