Column Governing by committee

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The appointment of high powered committees comprised of professionals and bureaucrats to study the petroleum sector and in particular petroleum pricing are a time-tested vehicle for political procrastination. This is not surprising. Petroleum is a political subject and a committee comprised of professionals cannot dig the government out of what is essentially a political hole.

Over the past decade or so, the government has set up many committees to advise on the steps that need to be taken to place the oil companies on a firm financial footing. Four of these committees are notable because of the eminence of their chairman and the quality of their reports. The ‘R’ group committee headed by Vijay Kelkar, currently chairman of the Finance Commission but formerly the petroleum secretary; Arjun Sengupta, former ambassador to the European Union and member of the Planning Commission; C Rangarajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India and until recently the chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, and BK Chaturvedi, currently member of the Planning Commission but earlier the cabinet secretary and also petroleum secretary. Each of their reports were marked by solid economic logic, analytic rigor and dispassionate clarity. Despite this, all of their efforts have essentially come to naught.

There is a simple reason why the government consistently ignores the findings of such high profile committees. They all come up with a singularly unpalatable recommendation. The price of petroleum products must eventually align with international prices.

The key question here is, why does the government persist in appointing committees comprised of professionals to address what is essentially a political subject. My suggestion is that the next committee on petroleum should be comprised of politicians and that it should come up with bold and practical suggestions on ‘how’ to implement what everyone knows must be done.