Ethics in Civil Service

A glaring example of how the well-entrenched members of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) conspire to subvert moral values as well as the law of the country they ‘serve’ became available to public in the form of an investigative report published by the well known newspaper – The Indian Express – in its today’s edition dated the 6^th April 2008.

The news report, accessible at http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/293126.html shows how a particular politician was allotted a plot of land in 1993 in flagrant violation of all norms of administrative law. It also furnishes details as to how the ‘specific’ plot of land was progressively changed from the initially tiny size of just 35 sq. metres to one over ten times larger at 354.25 sq. metres! Not only that; while the initial plot was in an area meant for economically weaker sections (EWS) of society, the final plot is situated in a prime residential locality in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.).

The newspaper reports that when the media confronted the beneficiary with these facts, he retorted that he had done no wrong. After all, it was not his fault that, based on his hand-written request note, the State administration had given him a plot of land meant for an EWS applicant, and so on. Whatever the technicalities, it can’t be denied that the allotment of land could not have taken place without the involvement of several officers manning key posts in the Uttar Pradesh State government and in the Lucknow Development Authority.

Instances of such filth in administration usually surface because someone in existing government deliberately leaks the facts out to embarrass his political opponent(s). In other cases these come out into the open owing to painful, persistent and risky efforts lasting maybe weeks or months undertaken by some hard-nosed journalist or an NGO.

It is tragic, but widely believed, that only a minuscule fraction of the huge number of total cases involving such blatant, arbitrary and illegal use of authority by our babus (bureaucrats) and netas (politicians) reach the domain of public knowledge.

A still greater tragedy is that though the few such reported cases provide clear evidence of criminal intentions and actions ranging from gross dereliction of duty to conspiracy or breach of trust, the culprits usually go scot-free. This is for several reasons, including the following.

a. As such illegalities usually involve a number of babus, including those at the top rungs of a State’s administration, they naturally have a vested interest in scuttling action that would expose them.

b. Criminal action is required to be pursued by the State, which in effect means that the babus at various levels have to process the cases or data relating to them.

c. As the culprits belong to an All India Service, even honest members of the Service tend to favor protection of the tainted brother officers to avoid ‘maligning’ the ‘good name’ of their Service!

May God save India.

The Kailash Mountain

On India's "Superfast" Trains

An interesting and well-researched article in today's Hindustan Times shows shamelessly our democratically chosen 'leaders' and their self-serving babus continue to fool the Indian public for years on end.

See the link below for the complete story.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=7f8ee1dd-ed73-4e5b-abe8-fa58f11d88d6

The IAS Mafia Strikes Yet Again

The new year has begun on a note that only reinforces my belief that India continues to be mired in feudalism. The constitutional post of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) of India has been wrested once again by a "generalist" officer, one Shri Vinod Rai, and the professional officers belonging to the premier Indian Audit & Accounts Service left to lick their wounds.

Another little-known fact, which India's journalists have failed to expose, is that the posts of Internal Financial Advisors in almost all the Union Government Ministries and Departments have been grabbed by the generalist officers of the IAS in yet another silent coup over the past year or two.

This makes the strangle-hold of the IAS over Indian administration unshakable, as the expert professional service officers have been systematically squeezed out from any positions where their free and frank views could pose a challenge to the hegemony of the powers that be. But then, in today's milieu, who cares if India loses?

The Supreme Court Acts to Strengthen the Rule of Law in Delhi

The tug of war, between the authority of Law on the one hand and the shrill forces of lawlessness and money in the form of a few thousand traders and their corrupt and unprincipled benefactors on the other, reached yet another landmark stage yesterday.

The Supreme Court of India again struck a blow for the countless law-abiding and silently suffering residents of Delhi by asking the big-fish (rich and powerful) culprits to arrange for 'adequate' parking facilities near their establishments before seeking their reopening.

This brings certain thoughts to my mind.

One, just what do the building laws and bye-laws say on the question of responsibilities, duties and legal liabilities of owners or users of commercial establishments (expected to be located in commercial areas) in the city as regards security, parking, toilets, fire safety, facilities for the women, children and handicapped? One hopes the Court was informed of all these requirements by the concerned parties.

Two, in case the said laws - being dated vis-a-vis the requirements of rapidly growing Delhi - are wanting in any manner, is it too much to expect that the MLAs of Delhi explain to their voters the reasons that have kept them from performing their primary legislative duty in this crucial area all this time? The people of Delhi have witnessed, thanks to our Media, just how aggressively and vociferously these representatives of ours were championing the 'cause' of all these illegal business establishments. And shouldn't they at least now commence the task in view of the preparations already afoot ahead of the Olympic Games of 2010?

Three, to the extent the laws actually exist and are in force, shouldn't the permanent bureaucracy, specifically charged with the duty of enforcing them do so at least now?

As the very presence of a commercial establishment in a residential area is illegal, there is no apparent reason why the axe should fall only on business establishments and not on the guilty politicians and bureaucrats. In fact, ethics demand that they be given a more rigorous (exemplary) punishment for consistently ignoring to perform their duty all those years when the illegal structures came up, grew and multiplied to create the ever-increasing chaos and disturbance for millions of innocent citizens.

Presumably the monitoring committees appointed by the court have taken into consideration the basic interests and rights of the numerous innocent citizens who had done no wrong by choosing to have their houses in the residential colonies in which these illegal business establishments came up. Or did the committes succumb to the common Indian tendency of ignoring the pain, tears and misery brought upon the victim of a crime and of rushing, instead, to assuage the 'misery' of the crime's perpetrator with bountiful misplaced sympathy?

One hopes the more resourceful and public-spirited citizens of Delhi will not allow the main lesson of Uphaar fire tragedy to be forgotten, not even if the memory span of the average Delhiite doesn't exceed a week! The lesson is simply that compromise with the rules meant for the benefit and safety of society must never be tolerated.

Vigilance Week Celebrations... and our New Generations

This post is about two somewhat related topics of current interest.

I. Vigilance Week.

The country's central government, and various public-funded bodies under it, are in the midst of celebrating the Vigilance Week - an annual event focused at generating awareness amongst their employees about the need to be honest, dedicated and ever-vigilant against corrupt practices, etc.

The country's topmost, and high profile, body that looks after the Vigilance function is the CVC , or the Central Vigilance Commission.

Besides keeping an eye over the errant public servants, the CVC also oversees the much more high-profile CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), which is the premier investigation agency of the country. The Indian public in places much faith in its professionalism and impartiality as compared to all other government-run agencies, including the police.

So far so good; but I certainly wonder whether CVC, the apex organization created to fight corruption, has really been effective in its mission. Honest answers to the following questions may reveal the reasons.

• With India's quasi-federal Constitution, the Central government has important roles - direct, and also as a role-model - to play in national affairs. Would it be wrong to conclude, therefore, that India's dismal record on corruption year after year means that our very system of governance has failed in its core duty?

• Has the CVC, being the apex body for tackling corruption in central institutions, ever got any professional and scientific surveys undertaken to determine the causes behind the stupendous growth of corruption in the country during the fast five-plus decades and to plan an effective roadmap to curb the same? The Indian public deserves to know this.

• Knowing fully well the Indian "system" where everything leaks, and reposing trust in authorities is a risky venture for anyone but the well-healed or well-connected, why did the CVC under Mr. Vittal, its erstwhile IAS head, decide to outrightly reject any anonymous complaints? Was that the ONLY way the CVC had to tackle the 'potential' misuse of this otherwise welcome and liberal measure? Or was it done to actually shield the corrupt, who are invariably powerful as well???

• Sheer common sense would dictate that the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of any organization must be truly independent - not only de facto but also de jure - so that (s)he is able to do justice to her/his role. (S)he must also be under severest accountability so that (s)he doesn't misuse her/his powers to harass someone, or to extract revenge, or to amass wealth by illegal means. Why is it then that for years (and even NOW!) posts of CVOs and VOs have been allowed to be filled in certain organizations, including those once headed by Mr. Vittal himself, recklessly flouting this common sense rule? Was (and is) it attributable to ignorance, ineptitude, hypocrisy, or a tendency to turn the Nelson's eye when faced with powerful vested interests?
  

[Note: The website of the CVC is at the following address: http://www.cvc.nic.in/]


II. The New Generation.

While surfing the Internet I recently came across some interesting revelations about how our younger generation is busy doing self-service, and in the process exporting our heritage of corrupt practices, beyond Indian boundaries. You may like to go through the initial few pages at the link cited at the end of this piece.

Incidentally, some of the comments at the site have made a reference to one of the States of India, and I tend to agree with it. My own experience has been that there is a great degree of parochialism exhibited by the people of certain States, while even in India. I have personally been witness to quite a few instances of networking and behind-the-scenes-lobbying done by, for, and amongst, persons belonging to the State in question. And well, habits don't respect boundaries, do they?

The cited link: https://lists.cs.columbia.edu/pipermail/ornet/2006-September.txt

Reform Efforts Show Result

There is some real good news at last:

Over the past one year, India has improved its ranking on the Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 88 to 70. It is being attributed to some of the Government's initiatives, in particular the Right to Information Act.

It just shows that if public policies are framed on good governance values, and sincerely implemented, the entire country stands to gain... over time, naturally.

At the same time, one cannot ignore the fact that we have a really long way to go before we can even think of resting. The recent shameful news about "Indians" getting the top rank in corruption in exports is still fresh in our minds. It is time our various chambers of commerce, export promotion bodies, and above all the Government, started the clean-up act in this important area without any further delay, lest the selfish misdeeds of some of our countrymen cause a lasting damage to the entire country's reputation and hurt us all, and also our economy, in the process.

Why do so many of us chose to never imbibe the simple lesson taught to all of us in school that honesty is the best policy? Isn't it because hypocrisy has been ruling in and around our lives??

The Supreme Court Acts Superbly

Yesterday's decision of the Supreme Court on the question of continuation of sealing of Delhi traders' unauthorized structures certainly came as a welcome relief.

Against the backdrop of escalating threats by belligerant and irresponsible traders, duly egged on by politicians of all hues for their selfish ends, and a succumbing- whimpering Government, one was wondering whether the Court would be able to withstand the immense pressure and blackmail that it was being subjected to.

Kudos to the (truly) Honourable Judges for keeping our faith in Indian Judiciary alive. One feels reassured that the future of democracy - which cannot rest on any foundation other than that of Rule of Law - is in safe hands as long as our Judiciary is manned by persons of such sterling character and courage. May our Constitution, and the values it cherishes, live long!!

Where is Delhi headed?

Yesterday was the first day of the three-day long Bandh (strike) declared by most of the traders in Delhi/New Delhi. As a result, several main markets in the city remained closed during the day, inconveniencing not only Delhi's citizens but also the tourists.

And the big reason for the strike? The traders are protesting against the orders issued by the Supreme Court of India directing the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to seal a large number of commercial properties illegally and unauthorizedly built by many of them in residential colonies over the past several years!!

It is interesting that all political parties, without any exception, are openly and vigorously supporting the affected traders numbering about 45,000. None of them has shown the least concern about the problems and sufferings caused by the offending traders to the ever-silent majority that is anywhere from hundreds to thousands of times more in number. In other words, they are de facto for the law-breaking minority and against the much larger number of relatively more law-abiding majority of citizens!!

The question that naturally arises is, just why is it so? The answer, however unpalatable it may seem, lies in the fact that in today's India, democracy is not about people per se, but rather about powerful people. Since the law-defying and law-breaking minority of traders has an enormous clout of money power and muscle power, they naturally matter far more to our politicians than the millions of 'ordinary' law-abiding citizens. So what if it turns the concept of democracy as a representative form of government on its head?

Our totally self-centered, irresponsible and corrupted politicians are bothered neither by the ugly and misfitting commercial structures in residential areas, nor by the huge inconvenience caused by them to men, women and children, to students preparing for their examinations, to the elderly and the sick.

They are equally deaf and blind to the air pollution, noise pollution, security problems, and disturbances to traffic caused by the mushrooming growth of such illegal shops in residential areas. Their sole concern has been, is and will most likely be with their petty power games and sources of funds. Unless....? Unless their constituents make them realize that this will not be acceptable any longer.

Right now, it's only a handful of proactive citizens and Residents' Welfare Associations, who are fighting the onerous battle against the powerful law-breakers. In this they are relying on the so-far largely reliable third pillar of Indian democracy -- the Judiciary. Court procedures are however painfully slow, cumbersome, costly (in terms of time, effort and money) and also quite uncertain.

Will the judiciary be able to stem the fast spreading rot in this "world's largest democracy"? Well, I sincerely hope so. If not, India may fast degenerate into a state of much greater anarchy, the Law of the Jungle in place of the already scarce Rule of Law.

I believe is that even as legal fights are both necessary and useful, a more lasting solution demands that the public take on the rot in the political and bureaucratic systems directly. The sooner the contours of such a resistance take shape, the better will it be for the immediate as well as long-term future of our society and the country.

The system of Public Interest Litigation evolved by Indian Judiciary, coupled with the Right to Information (RTI) Act framed by Indian Parliament has already given our citizens a pretty useful armoury to fight their battles against various evil propensities well entrenched in our social, political and bureaucratic structures. One hopes a significantly large number of us will rise to the occasion and make the most of these tools together with the increasing power modern technology is placing in our hands as days go by. [Good news: From 1.10.2006 you can file cases online in the Supreme Court.]

The battle for good governance cannot be won adequately without empowerment of the average voter. For this, our electoral system must undergo some crucial reforms. One of them is the right of recall of elected representatives in any constituency under certain foreseeable situations. The second is the right to cast a 'no vote' in case a voter finds none of the candidates suitable. Finally, on select issues of national importance, including changes in key features of the Constitution, national referendum must be made mandatory.

The bottomline? Our spoilt politicians and egoist bureaucrats must get a clear message that enough is enough. It is high time they learnt, and real fast at that, how to behave like true representatives and servants of Indian citizens.