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Indian Bureaucracy:SUFFOCATING, SLOW & SPINELESS, by Proloy Bagchi,15 June 2009 Print E-mail

EVENTS & ISSUES

New Delhi,15 June 2009

Indian Bureaucracy

SUFFOCATING, SLOW & SPINELESS

By Proloy Bagchi

Reams have been written in recent years about the Indian bureaucracy. Established by the British to consolidate their hold on the vast territories they acquired in the country, its main component the Indian Civil Service (ICS) was once described as the “steel frame” of the Indian Government.

Post-Independence, however, the Indian bureaucracy progressively got politicised and became increasingly sleazy and venal. The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) – the successor of the famed ICS --- dominates the entire spectrum of Indian Administration, both at the Centre and in the States. Occupying virtually all positions of consequence, its members are busy lavishing on themselves generous perks. And, slowly and inefficaciously grind out, if at all, measly lumps of favours for the aam aadmi.

A recent survey by the Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy found the Indian bureaucrats that they are “a power centre in their own right at both the national and State levels, and are extremely resistant to reform that affects them or the way they go about their duties".

According to its report, while the Singapore civil servants were the most efficient among their Asian peers, their Indian counterparts were found to be “suffocating”, working with whom was a “slow and painful” process.

But that is not all that can be said about the Indian bureaucracy. There is another quality of it that seems to have been missed by the Consultancy ---- that is it has progressively become spineless. The much-vaunted “steel frame” has become a frame seemingly made of fragile twigs that the sparrows use to build their nests.  Attempting to feather their own nests they have sold their soul to their political masters. Those, whose raison d’être was aiding and advising their political superiors, have actually ended up doing, for better or for worse, the latter’s bidding, thus becoming the politician’s foot soldiers.

The history of 60 years of the IAS is littered with instances that illustrate this attribute. But a recent instance from the Madhya Pradesh (MP) lends a contemporaneous touch to it. Sanjana Jain, a spunky woman belonging to the State’s Indian Revenue and Administrative Service, who recently stood her ground against the bullying tactics of a Minister, was promptly let down by the senior bureaucracy of the State.

Until recently, a Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Dewas, a district headquarter in the State Sanjana while functioning as the Returning Officer of the Sonkutch constituency for the MP Legislative Assembly elections in November 2008 had a confrontation with a Minister in the State Government, Tukoji Rao Puar. He tried to browbeat her to cancel the candidature of the adversarial Congress nominee in the constituency.

The Minister not only barged into her office, entered into an unseemly argument with Sanjana but also lost his equanimity and threw a bunch of papers at her. This was caught on camera and telecast by virtually all the news channels. However, at the instance of the Election Commission, a report was duly filed with the police and the Minister arrested, only to be granted bail later.

Post-elections, Sanjana was reverted to her administrative post and, under orders of her superiors, was asked to check out Dewas’s eating places. Given that it was prone to cholera and other infectious diseases. But she fell foul yet again of Tukoji Rao Puar who had become a Minister for the second time.

The food-joint owner was found to be indulging in many irregularities and was operating without the necessary permissions. As he happened to be a lackey of the Minister. When caught by Sanjana, he used his influence with the Minister, who, true to his form, again entered into a lengthy argument with the Officer charging her of bias against his Party- men. When Sanjana refused to succumb to the Minister’s pressure, the matter was taken right up to the Chief Minister.

That the lady officer took on the Minister, even after an earlier unpleasant incident speaks volumes for her guts, courage of conviction and commitment to her duties. Very few of her colleagues, including her seniors in the IAS, have seldom displayed the same. As expected by her and her colleagues, she was peremptorily transferred by the State Administration under pressure from the political executive. That, however, is neither here nor there. She made her point and, hopefully, created a benchmark for official conduct, which many of her junior and senior colleagues might like to strive to work up to.

On the other hand, the ruling Party, came out in poor light. Surely, people will not easily forget this sordid episode of a Minister preventing an official from taking administrative action to ensure public health and general well-being of the people.

Importantly, the most condemnable attitude was displayed by the State’s bureaucracy. It was sickening to see its lack of spine. It did not come to the rescue of a field officer who was literally stopped in her tracks from doing her duty. Not only was she bullied by a brash Minister before a crowd of onlookers, she was also reported to have been insulted in front of a defaulter whom she had been able to catch breaching the relevant extant laws.

The bureaucracy, members of which are called public servants, failed to put up a fight.  Forget the officer, even for the cause of the public, and caved in the face of political pressure. Such brazen political interference in administrative work may have acquired run-of-the-mill character for the higher bureaucracy but it should have been the business of those who wield power over junior functionaries to sift chaff from the grain and be more judicious and circumspect before handing out decisions.

After all, the needlessly penalised officer was only attempting to ensure the public’s health and well-being. Besides, her efforts would also have saved public expenditure on maintaining public health. It is not unknown to the bureaucracy that it is largely the unscrupulous operators in the food sector who, generally, are responsible for choking up the public health-care facilities, especially during the hot and humid season when adulterated and rotten foodstuff is often dished out to the unwary customer.

As it stands, Madhya Pradesh is a State which suffers from a severe deficit of governance. By giving short shrift to the courage and righteousness of the officer, who happened to be the unwitting victim of crude exercise of the powerful and brash politician, the bureaucracy has further demoralised the State’s official machinery. More, it has wittingly or unwittingly, given a fillip to further non-governance. And, reprehensibly, leaving the people at the mercy of unscrupulous politicians and their crooked supporters. ----- INFA

(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)


 

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