Accountability

I have been living in the US for more than a year now. While I can be tempted to compare and rant about the development and infrastructure differences between the US and my home country, there were a few subtle experiences that really inspired me during my stay. The public utilities systems here show a remarkable level of accountability and transparency.

Recently, I received a letter from the water distribution board mentioning that tests indicated proof of bacteria in the public water supply. The letter insisted that the species of bacteria found were not really harmful in most cases. For instances where that could pose a health problem, remedies were provided. The letter ended mentioning that the system was committed to quality and would take adequate measures so that this wouldn’t happen again. It mentioned that the letter, which was communicated to all residents in the town, was to be transparent in their service and governance.

The utilities company responsible for electricity provides information about the sources of power in the state, provides a graph showing your consumption for the past 12 months, comparing that with the average household consumption and also mentions why the unit charge is more during certain months and less during others. To top it all, every bill provides valuable tips on saving power specific to the season you are in, information about go-green initiatives and how consumers could be a part of this as well.

These were two examples where organizations showed a great deal of transparency and accountability. These not only instill a sense of confidence in their customers, but also pride for many. If you look at it, these are not hard measures to undertake as an organization. In many ways, these principles are somewhat missing in the utilities system (run by the government) back home. I personally think these principles come before any major overhaul in the utilities system.

Accountability doesn’t stop with organizations. We have our own share of responsibility, and accountability. For instance, we must try our best to help recycling. Here, in the US, and in many other countries, people consciously separate out paper, plastics and other garbage. It is also important to separate out non-biodegradable stuff and materials that are bio-hazards (like battery cells etc). Unfortunately, this measures are not religiously taken in India, and garbage disposal is not given as much importance as it should be. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that we have more than a billion people living in the country, with really, really high population density. Recycling is just one of the many things we civilians should be accountable for. More importantly, we must be aware of the fact that we are accountable for many things – we simply seem to forget them by putting ourselves in a shell, blaming the government and organizations, instead of ourselves.