Only an election year can elicit such efficiency. A one-man commission set up by the Madhya Pradesh Government to recommend ways to improve the condition of the poor belonging to the general category has submitted its first report within 90 days. And the BJP Government, without wasting any time, has set up a three-member committee to look into the recommendations and come out with its own report in a week’s time.The commission believes its recommendations will influence more than one crore people because 15 to 20 per cent of the six-crore-plus population in the state fall in the ‘poor’ category. This, when the commission is yet to define who can be called ‘Nirdhan’.In his race against the clock, Babulal Jain, the 73-year-old chairman of the commission, claimed to have visited 24 of the 48 districts, talking to a wide section of people, politicians, intellectuals and social activists among others. At few places like Jabalpur and Gwalior, he even visited mohallas dominated by the economically weaker section among the general category. In between, he even managed a trip to Gujarat to meet Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others to inquire if the BJP-ruled state had done some similar work.The announcement about the constitution of the commission was made on January 28 and Jain was at work by February 11, working for several days without furniture and other resources. He and his secretary even worked from the lawn. The office does not have nameplates and some of the members who helped Jain were either his relatives or acquaintances and hence could do without salary.Jain, who is a former education minister, seems to have spent money on travel from his own pocket because the Cabinet formally approved to the setting up of the commission only on May 14, when Jain was already through with his first report. Jain promptly submitted his 41-page report on May 15 to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh at a ceremony attended by few of the Cabinet members. Chouhan congratulated Jain on submitting the report in such quick time.The commission report does not make a case for reservation, but talks of creating opportunities so that the general category poor get the same benefits as their counterparts from other communities.Jain believes Madhya Pradesh is the only state to have set up such a commission. “It will become a trendsetter of sort,” he said, adding that he is sure at least the BJP-ruled states would follow suit. Gujarat and Chhattisgarh have already shown interest in the idea, he added. Jain said he will submit his second report in another 100 days and the final report before the electoral code of conduct comes into force.
