Commissions are political playthings

India's governing structure allows for statutory bodies or commissions to monitor implementation of laws, safeguard the rights of vulnerable sections of society and suggest new legislation.
These commissions are supposed to act as watchdogs and give expert opinions while looking into systemic issues. Yet, Tamil Nadu's politics and governance style -governments with massive electoral man dates and headed by powerful personalities ­ seems to allow little space for strong commissions acting independently.
These commissions are intended to improve the quality of governance. But, barring a few exceptions, they have merely served the purpose of being sine cures for party functionaries in Tamil Nadu. Many commissions are dormant, and some haven't submitted their annual reports in years. But nearly each of these commissions has a model in other states that can be emulated.
Among the worst hit are bodies for the welfare of women, children and transgenders. Despite the tag of a progressive state, Tamil Nadu does not have a commission for SCSTs. “None of the commissions in the state has experts in that particular field,“ said V Suresh, general secretary of People's Union for Civil Liberties.
Gnani Sankaran, writer and journalist, said most bodies are just an extension of the government in the state. “They are not independent enough to express their views or to oppose the wrong policy decisions of the government. Most commissions in TN are toothless and functioning for namesake,” he said.
The State Commission for Women is headed by 91-year-old Visalakshi Nedunchezhian, who was the organising secretary of AIADMK. “The commission has not initiated public hearings or campaigns at the state and district level. It has not tabled annual reports in the assembly for several years,” said U Vasuki, national vice president of All India Democratic Women's Association, who commends the work of V Vasanthi Devi, a former chairperson of the women's commission.

Illustration: Shinod Akkaraparambil
“Devi intervened in several issues and made the commission more visible since she was not a political nominee.”
Visalakshi said that her work speaks more than her age. “We have been receiving more than 1,500 cases every year. We have provided counselling and we attend to petitions. We have asked for funds to set up a website,” she said.
In yet another political appointment, Saraswathi Rangasami, who was an AIADMK party functionary for south Chennai, was made the chairperson of State Commission for protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) after the high court flayed the government for delays in constituting a child rights panel.
“The present chairperson had no qualification for this post except that she was an office-bearer of the ruling party. Other members in the SCPCR were also appointed through a non-transparent system of selection. Not a penny out of Rs 37 lakh that was allocated to SCPCR for year 2012-13 has been spent. For the subsequent two years too, the meager funds that were allocated for its functioning are yet to be utilized,” said child rights activist A Narayanan and director of the NGO, Change India.
An official in the child rights panel said: “We have only three staff members against the required 25. There are no funds to create awareness campaigns,” he said.
The information commission is yet another victim of blatant political manipulation. In 2012, the AIADMK government appointed five state information commissioners including former AIADMK MP V Saroja, former AIADMK women wing joint secretary B Neelambikai and retired police officer Christopher Nelson. Nelson was part of the team of police officers involved in the sensational midnight arrest of DMK chief M Karunanidhi in June 2001.
The shoddy handling of commissions may well be pointers to the lack of genuine democratic space in the state.
“There is no talk about Right to Service Act, Lok Ayukta, Special Courts Act and fast tracking of cases of crimes against women and children. The present government does not believe in empowering people. The number of beneficiaries of freebies has increased at the cost of long-term development and empowerment,” said D Jagadheeswaran, general secretary of Tamil Nadu state unit of Lok Satta Party.