WHETHER SHOP & ESTT. ACT & DEPT. NECESSARY IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION/ LIBERALIZATION AND PRIVATIZATION?
In the days of liberalization and globalization what is the use of Shop and Estt. Dept. By continuing this dept. govt. is not ready to liberate the retail sector/ small shop owners from the clutches of Inspector Raj. Today even running a small shop becomes a daunting task. One side govt. is opening up our economy and big Corporates and multinational corporation flooding into this country and getting large benefit. On the other side, the govt. killing self employed men, small scale and retail sector through License-Inspector- Permit raj. After independence, when we become democracy, we lost economic, social and individual independence. We lose our freedom of right to work as a fundamental right of any human being. Recently Shop and Estt. Dept. penalized many shop keepers for keeping open their shop on Mondays saying that it is against the rule of law. Our legislators making hundreds and thousands of unimplementable laws just to harass the citizen without understanding its social impact. On the other hand, the wrong policies of the govt. itself encouraging the people to turn into criminal activities by discouraging them into work.
The Govt. dept. playing a double standard while treating small shop keepers. Across the cities and towns call centres work on 24×7 basis. Why the same law is not applicable to them. In the modern age, whether we need such a department Now a question arises, why the govt. need to feed such a white elephant across the nation, thus by putting more burden on the small and marginal shop keepers. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation has increased its penalty from the earlier upto 500 to now upto 10000. One surprising fact which have noticed is that no association/ NGOs or any other traders body opposed or challenged the enormous increase made by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation in the court of law or taken representation to the state/ central govt. What happened to the strong trading community especially from Marwari and Gujarati business communities not even raised a single voice against such injustice. What happened to the so called big electronic and print media sidelining such a bigger issue which affects larger sections of the retail communities. Even if a small newspaper like us take a giant leap forward in taking up this issue before the public for more debate.
What is the govt. and BMCs intention? Whether they want to penalize the people on a silly reason and get a hefty amount by applying hefty penalty? In the name of liberalization/ privatization/globalization govt. want to open up the retail sector to big multinational by giving big concessions worth crores of rupees. On the other side, the retail sector small scale sector like service, trade, production etc. are burdening with Licence-Inspector-Permit-Quota regime. Over and above, day by day new laws and rules are imposed to kill the small scale industries and penalizing heavily to fill the empty coffers of the govt. just to pay the salary and wages to govt. servant without giving back to anything to the tax payers. Nowadays police also increased the penalty amount. Increment of penalty will definitely made the prime reason to increasing corruption and corrupted activities. The govt. of the day, without a second thought, just to protect the ruling elite and powerful increased the penalty.
Now we need a new debate on whether hefty penalty/ fines make more corruption? Who will be the victim? Except politician and bureaucrats, (say some section of the big media) might oppose. But in reality, people are facing the same in day to day life. If you look at the actual fact that if an man commit small mistake unintentionally or lack of knowledge or lack of support or the reason beyond his/her control, the govt. try to impose/ take stringent action. Here in this case, he not only loosing opportunity to improve and adjust with the system of democracy.
We need to completely repeal Shop and Establishment Act considering the globalisation and liberalisationa nd corporatisation. Running a small unit/ shop by the self employed facing an uphill task. Govt. always favouring big and monopolitistic corporate sector with various concessions. Call centres working on 24/7 basis. Big companies running on 24/7 basis. But running a small shop/ small companies/ units etc. , greedy and jealous govt. penalising these sections with Licence-Inspector-Permit Raj. The draconian Shop & Estt. Act is one of the same. Don’t do this, don’t do that, like the condition is enormous. Shopkeepers need to compulsorily take weekly off otherwise imposed hefty fine. The Big companies have separate law, SEZ have separate law, ordinary citizen have separate law. When we become democracy, Independent India made us all a ‘class dalit’. Earlier there was only caste dalit. Today we are a Class Dalits by ruling Brahmin, Corporate Brahmin and global brahmin.
In the days of external liberalisation, corporatisation of retail sector and opening up of all sector, large section of people who are directly and directly employed in the small scale, retail and self employed sector, traders, all of them facing lots of problem. Whatever way, govt., bureaucracy, judiciary they are all trying to hammering these section. In a democracy like India dog killing becomes a big issue, when more than 35-40% people who are direcetly and indirectly engaged in this sector have no voice, but obeying the dictates of the govt. When politician try to take up non-issue and divide people on the basis of caste, region and religion, they completely forgot this section.
In the colonial era, Britishers are better treated Indian citizen. Today our own rulers slavourised us for their own gain.
The time has come to completely repeal Shop & Establishment Act and such other draconial acts in the interest of Indian people.