E-Paper
Poll code slowed down governance in U.P.
If issuing of government orders is taken as the yardstick, the pace slowed down to nearly half in the past two-and-a-half-months of the 2024 LS polls
The Uttar Pradesh government’s pace of governance appears to have been affected a bit as it negotiated the Election Commission of India’s model code of conduct that came into force soon after the announcement of schedule for 2024 Lok Sabha elections on March 16.
If issuing of government orders (GOs) is taken as the yardstick to measure the speed of work, the pace slowed down to nearly half in the past two-and-a-half-months of the 2024 polls. The state government issued 2,004 GOs between March 16 and May 31, 2024, against 4,044 GOs issued during the same period in 2023.
The ECI’s code of conduct dos and don’ts put a bar on the state government on announcing any new projects, programmes, concessions or financial grants in any forms that can influence voters in favour of the party in power.The restrictions apply equally to new and ongoing schemes and no new work should start even if work orders have been issued before the model code came into effect.
“Yes, no major policy decisions are taken and no financial sanctions are issued when the ECI’s model code of conduct comes into force. So, the government work comes to a halt during the period which is over 2.5 months this year and obviously some way out should be found,” said former chief secretary Alok Ranjan.
A flurry of activity was witnessed ahead of the announcement of 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The state government not only presented its annual budget for 2024-2025 for a record size of ₹7.36 lakh crore in February 2024, but it also organised groundbreaking ceremony (GBC) from February 19 to 21 to implement investment proposals of over ₹10 lakh crore.
The state government also expedited the pace of work before the announcement of polls early this year obviously to beat the model code of conduct issuing 3,608 GOs between January 1 and March 15, 2024. This was the time when the state government was getting ready for 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It had issued 3,431 GOs in the same period in 2023.
