Monday, March 28, 2011

Energy Getting Exausted


The State of Tamil Nadu has a demand of 11000 MW of electricity but it generates only 8000 MW. It purchases power from Private Producers at the rate of Rs.7/- to Rs.15/- per unit to meet the additional requirement although the consumers are charged only @ Rs.3.50 per unit. This involves the extra cost of Rs.1.75 crore per day.


The Power Manager viz., the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board is alarmed over the poll promises made by both the political parties DMK and AIADMK on the eve of general elections to the state assembly for free distribution of Mixies, Grinders, Fans, Fridges and Washing Machines. The compensation to the TNEB or its distribution company arranged as of late is received in instalments through the state's annual budget provisions throwing its finances out of gear many a time.


There is no doubt that such free distribution of electrical
gadgets to the lower middle and deprived sections of the society would not only act as a means of social justice but also induce an additional economic acitivity namely an increase in the production and sale of such gadgets giving benefits to the manufacturers. Indirectly such a step would result in additional demand for power on a regular basis to run those Gadgets putting extra strain on the energy producers and suppliers at such a heavy cost as mentioned above.

Every state government promises and tries to generate and supply the electric power at a reasonable cost without any power-cuts but many of them fail miserably as we have seen so far with one or two exceptions here and there. Demand for power is bound to increase manifold in the days to come in tune with the development and additional purchasing power in the hands of consumers.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Incomplete Performance

When domestic savings and investment fall short of the requirement, one needs to resort to foreign aid in the form of grants or loans either from foreign governments or from International financial institutions. As is true of every other developing nation, India too requires foreign aid for some years to come with a view to supplementing its domestic resources provided both by Public and Private Sectors.

It is not gratifying to note that India has been found wanting in utilizing the sanctioned foreign aid to the tune of Rs.1 lakh crore by Ministries like Urban Development, Water Resources and Energy as reported by the Government Auditor viz., the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

“As on March 31, 2010 unutilised committed external assistance was of the order of Rs.1,05,339 crore"  the Comptroller and Auditor(CAG) said in his report tabled in Parliament on Friday, March 18, 2011.

It is also a point of concern to us that the Government has paid commitment charges of Rs.86.11 crore during the year 2009-10 in the form of penalty for not timely utilizing the aid approved by multilateral and bilateral lending agencies. The CAG further attributes the above failure to inadequate planning resulting in avoidable expenditure in the form of commitment charges.

God knows the reason for the inability of Planning Commission of India for not having reviewed such a poor performance on the part of the concerned ministries in the Govt. of India. The Cabinet Secretary and the Secretaries concerned are unable to ensure full utilization of the foreign assistance made available to the projects which almost amounts to a criminal neglect on the part of all those involved in advocating foreign aid and all those agencies involved in implementation of such projects for which foreign aid was sought and obtained.

Who is to bell the cat and pull the Indian bullock cart together in a desired direction?








Friday, March 18, 2011

Disputes among Public Sector Undertakings

The given arrangement, as per the ruling of the Apex Court till now, had been that the disputes arising between different public undertakings can be referred to the Committee of Union Secretaries for resolving their inter-se disputes. But looking to the delay and inefficient functioning of the afore-said Committee, the Apex court, namely, the Supreme Court of India through its Five-member Constitutional Bench has reversed its earlier decision and enabled the undertakings to take up the matter directly to the apex Court hereafter (Dinamani of Friday, February 18, 2011).

It is no doubt a fine reversal of the decision for the better. But as a retired bureaucrat I feel pity and bemoan the system losing its importance in the given context. It reflects very badly on the top officials of the Government of India at this juncture. This is a sign of continuous degradation in the style of administration one is forced to confront and experience with no justification whatsoever.


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Brave and timely action of Tamil nadu Human Rights Commission

Hats off to the T.N Human Rights Commission for the bold and timely action against police officers responsible for punishing a reformed individual on false charges despite his genuine pleas on his good conduct. The victim is one Shanmugam from Madurai and the police staff involved are Messrs Mutharasu, Inspector of police, Head constable Sambandam Viswanathan and Rajarajan of Tanjore Tamil University Police Station. The above police staff tried to harass and prosecute Shanmugam on the charge of stealing 10 gram of gold ornaments.

The tendency of the police is normally to suspect the history-sheeters but when they prepare the same they at times overlook the genuine nature of the person involved. As I normally reiterate, the good-natured and innocent persons should not be allowed to be harassed while bigger devils are at large due to their political connections in the states.

One should indeed admire the Commission member Mr K.Mariappan for such a step taken in view of several such bodies like Central Administrative Tribunal and Information Commission  failing in their duties to protect the genuine parties.

(Dinamani of Friday, February 18, 2011)

Friday, March 11, 2011

P.M paints Chavan CVC row villain

The P.M told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 that the list of candidates for selection of CVC was made by Mr Prithviraj Chavan, the then Minister of State in PMO and in-charge of DOPT and he didn't know personally the real antecedents of P.J.Thomas as a candidate. Prithviraj Chavan makes a plea that the state government of Kerala had failed to point out a charge-sheet pending while giving the vigilance clearance. All this shows how manipulative P.J Thomas was and how vulnerable or gullible the PMO officials have turned out to be in this regard. 

One should however admire the P.M for the support of his advisors and officials and who had also ensured no action against the wrong doers. This is not the first time he has done so. Look at some of the ministers in G.O.I as well as in state capitals who had been known for being shirkers  and ditchers when a similar calamity takes place. Umpteen number of examples can be quoted if one wants it.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Small & Sincere Steps with Requisite Results - 3

First encounter with a senior officer:

As the Additional Collector of Raipur District I was working for nearly two years (1975-77) and had seen three divisional commissioners coming and going. Mr D.G Bhave, a tough and target-oriented officer was my second commissioner in Raipur. The gentleman had become a little notorious for his drinking habit and was very close to local politicians including Mr Shyama Charan Shukla who happened to be the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh State ( the tall, fair and the most handsome chief minister I have seen) around that period. For the first time I saw a Chief Minister coming to his hometown at least three times a month and the whole district administration and the divisional commissioner were in attendance in full strength every time without fail and at least 50 to 60 motor vehicles used to participate in motorcade of the C.M. It was nothing less than a legendary regality of a monarchy being rehearsed in a poor country like India whose freedom was fought and won by a half-naked fakir called Mahatma Gandhi and his followers. It was indeed a nightmare for me as a young officer to mentally reconcile with such episodes.

I was keen to regulate the road traffic around Jai Stambh in the heart of Raipur city by installing traffic signals and white-paint marking on the roads leading to Jai Stambh from all the four directions. I struggled hard with the help of Traffic Police, City Magistrate, City S.P and tried to implement the plan by even regulating and providing a separate lane for cycle rickshaws plying all over the city in large numbers. For the first time the pedestrian crossings were marked near the Stambh and the traffic was successfully managed for a few months. Even in the year 2007 (Now Raipur is the capital city of Chattisgarh State since November 2000) the traffic around Jai Stambh was in a mess, thanks to the lack of coordination between the concerned agencies and lack of will on their part.

The annual inspection of the Block Development Offices, the Tehsil offices, the Sub Treasuries, Tappa Tehsils was being done in a routine and casual manner earlier. But sharing the workload of the Collector, I made it a point to conduct those inspections in an effective and practical way utilizing the opportunity to stay in the interior places mainly in PWD, Irrigation and Forest Rest houses for a night or two with plans to visit villages and projects being undertaken by those authorities during the year of inspection or during the previous years. There was hardly any rest house in the composite Raipur district during 1995-97 where the undersigned had not made a night halt. Tremendous amount of job satisfaction was derived by such visits and inspections by devoting three days minimum in a week.

There was a notice board (appeared for the first time during Mr Bhave's tenure) outside the chamber of the Commissioner of Raipur Division in bold letters containing the following directions:

1) Commissioner should not be approached with / through any recommendation for any government work.

2) Nobody should try to inflence the commissioner for allotment of government quarters out of the way overtaking the queue existing for the purpose.

"My instant reaction was really great looking to the transparency of my boss in the work".

As the Additional Collector of Raipur district, I was also made the Competent Authority under the Urban Ceiling Act of 1975. It was one of the most hopelessly drafted and half-heartedly implemented legislations ever passed by the Parliament and adopted by the state assemblies in this country. I never knew that I would need to confront headlong with my second boss in hierarchy namely the Divisional Commissioner Mr.D.G.Bhave. He was interested in helping a legal heir of Khairagarh Princely State near Raipur with regard to a large chunk of urban land located in the city. One day he directed me through the district collector to go and meet the former queen of that clan in the circuit house and advise her on the possibility of saving as much land as possible under the provisions of Urban Ceiling Act. I contemplated for some time and decided not to succumb to the pressure at any cost and accordingly I avoided meeting of that person. A few days later the commissioner seemed to have enquired from the collector and understood my adamancy not to help the party unofficially.

Similarly on a different occasion I was put in charge of selecting 2- 3 class four employees for the Collectorate from the list of candidates received from the District Employment Exchange. I received a message through the collector again that I should select two candidates recommended by the commissioner. I again contemplated for a while and decided not to select those persons on the ground that when there was a procedure laid down for the purpose, what was the necessity of befooling and enacting a drama in the eyes of those hapless candidates waiting for an opportunity to grab such a post at the lowest level in the government office. I gave a deep thought to this sort of pressure in those early days of my career and wondered whether I would have been selected as an IAS officer if such a trend were in existence in UPSC, New Delhi during 1970-71. Can’t we ensure fair play and impartiality in the selection and appointment of class four employees in the collector office which is supposed to be a symbol of the state and central governments in Indian Republic?- my mind was engrossed with this issue for quite some time. In fact I fully ensured proper selection and appointment of the eligible candidates on the jobs. That had really infuriated the boss and blown his anger against me out of all proportions. Now I fully understood the inner meaning of the notice board hanging outside the chamber of commissioner.

One day he called and fired me alone saying that I was a misfit for the system – not obliging the boss with requests for the favours as indicated above and also not drinking in the company of other colleagues in parties or otherwise. He shouted at me and said that he knew the chief Minister very well and I could be shunted out of my present posting as the Settlement Officer of some god-forsaken district, if he wanted and if I continued with this attitude as a member in service. I kept cool and gave an impression that I would not change my style even if he tried to transfer me to a bad posting as he wished and I sent words to him saying I was prepared to go to Andaman & Nicobar Islands if that needed but I won’t act against my conscience. The gentleman officer tried his best to shift me but in vain. Unfortunately he himself got shifted from Raipur and I had the opportunity to see the third Commissioner as his successor. This was the first and a strong confrontation with the so-called tough man in the cadre after my entry into I.A.S. I little realized then that the boss would have given a bad assessment of mine at the end of the year. I told my colleague in I.P.S as Additional S.P by name Aulakh that I hardly cared for a good and favourable confidential report by being a slave to the system. The gentleman had not given, as expected, an outstanding C.R in spite of my commitment and hard work in service. Others with less work but good P.R (personal relationship) got excellent C.Rs. Hell with the dirty system!

Freedom Fighter Veer Narayan Singh

When I perused the district gazetteer of Raipur I came across the story of one historical hero named Veer Narayan Singh who force opened the gates of one grain trader in Sonakhan area of the district during the days of Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Independence around 1857 and enabled the poor to feed themselves and escape from starvation. The British officers conducted a trial against him and hanged him to death near the Jai Stambh, the central location of Raipur town. This fact was discovered and revealed to media persons by me for the first time and left the district on posting as the Collector of Betul District. A smart scribe copied my statement and brought it to the notice of the Chief Minister Mr.Arjun Singh later on and got the credit for himself. I came to know of it much later. The said hero is now a celebrity figure in the minds of the residents of Chhattisgarh.

There is a reason why I made it public soon after my reading of the gazetteer because I had already read and seen a mega feature film on a similar hero in Tamil Nadu by name Veera Pandia Katta Bomman of Panchala Kurichy Kingdom who valiantly fought against the British by upholding the Indian dignity and independence in those days. He too was hanged in public after his defeat in the hands of British.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Quality of Execution of Public Works in Chhattisgarh

'Roads Built, Rebuilt' lamented by Joseph John in his news on Monday, March 7, 2011 in the Indian Express of Ahmedabad edition reveals that 417 roads constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in the last seven years have fallen short of the requisite quality standards. The Government of Chhattisgarh has ordered reconstruction of 27 of these.


During the last three years alone 3350 roads were constructed out of which many projects are still lying incomplete even in the capital district of Raipur. What does it indicate? It shows the carelessness on the part of concerned political masters, engineers and the quality agencies involved in those projects. It also means that funds were released without proper inspections and quality checking.


An official who was strict and stopped payment of the contractors on this account was shifted out of his place of posting. What lesson public and the officials should draw from this action of the government? - Tolerate low standards and help the contractors who have already obliged the public servants.

Good governance!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Small & Sincere Steps with Requisite Results - 2

Passion for Intensive Touring;-


The first posting of the undersigned, after the statutory training for two years, was in Jashpur Nagar Sub Division in the erstwhile and composite Raigarh District in the state of Madhya Pradesh as the Sub-divisional Officer and Sub Divisional magistrate for two years (1973-75). It had about 400 and odd tribal villages in eight development blocks in its jurisdiction. The goal of the undersigned was to undertake intensive tour of the entire subdivision during the tenure. Accordingly as many as 300 and odd villages were visited by me and the Kotwar (Village Police/security Guard) registers inspected and signed as a special visitor to the area. Many a time the undersigned and the District Organizer of Tribal welfare Department stayed in school buildings, mid-wife quarters, students’ hostels and ashrams in addition to rest houses owned and maintained by the Public Works Department, Forest Department and Irrigation Department. The visit to the wilderness and seclusion of several hamlets was literally enjoyed both in winter and summer. The tours were undertaken several times on foot for miles together or on bicycles and the jeeps for 16-22 days in a month. The purpose behind the tours was to alert the local staff members of different departments and also to ensure their presence in remote areas for solving the problems of villagers.




Rural development was the undersigned’s pet and preferred subject for implementation of various governmental schemes. Shram dan was his typical answer to the local development issues. Full and active participation of the undersigned along with villagers and tehsil officials ensured the road-building in a village near Jashpur on Gandhi Jayanthi day (October 2, 1973 and 1974). Public Distribution System was overhauled and the Janpad Office was engaged in running of a Fair Price Shop for about half the population of Jashpur Municipality from my own official residence by lending the guest house attached to the SDM bungalow (Former Diwan’s palace). Adequate attention was paid and enough support was equally extended to the Christian missionaries engaged in education and public health care among the tribes as well as the Kalyan Ashram of Hindus for similar efforts in the subdivision.




During the financial year 1974-75 the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Mr.P.C.Sethi introduced a new levy on farmers on the basis of their landholdings and procured paddy for the sake of Public Distribution System. It was one of the most unpopular and impractical decisions of the then Congress government. It wrecked havoc on tribal land owners because each holding was undivided for two-three generations with the result the scale of levy was quite harsh on those poor farmers. But as a truthful civil servant officiating as the Collector-in-charge of the district the undersigned tried to implement the levy order with a humane approach and realistic assessment of each farmer’s capacity. There was no uproar in Raigarh district at this time of levy collection directly from the farmers while farmers were up in arms in other parts of the state. Another drawback of the levy drive was the delay in sending the allotment of funds from the state Headquarters for procurement operations like purchase and supply of gunny bags to the revenue department officials, other incidental expenses etc. The undersigned had to take a bold decision and draw an allotment of Rs 1.50 lakh from district treasury without any orders from the State Capital. A third person made a complaint against me in this regard but the divisional commissioner Mr. Ram Bihari Lal, a straightforward and honest officer admired my sincerity and boldness and filed the complaint even without getting a reply from me. That was the style and practical wisdom with which most of the senior officers used to appreciate and support the juniors in the work place. As a result the target fixed for the district was achieved without any hassles.