First encounter with a senior officer:
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!
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.
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.
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.
