Bad Governance leaves Bureaucrats disillusioned

Dear Friends

It is my responsibility to give both sides of the coin with respect to Civil Services and civil servant.This article falls under 'signficant issues in Indian administration' as far as UPSC current syllabus is considered. 

But this should not deter you by taking the exam - as there is no other career can be compared to civil services in India. But at the same time you should not be in an illusion that civil services is feather's bed.  Let me tell you one thing upfront - as you all know clearing civil services is itself a big achievement but its not an end but its a beginning of a long journey which is hailed as even more difficult than clearing the exam. The war between politicians and bureaucrats is long standing and will continue. How well a civil servant handle his political head will depend on his success as a civil servant.

But these are only informations - which can be true or false. What you need to understand is - these issues are happening in Indian Administration.

Regards

GMStudyCenter

Disillusioned, dispirited, disgusted, disenchanted, dismayed, disoriented, demoralized, dejected…… these adjectives sum up the current state of bureaucracy in Andhra Pradesh.

For six years now, bureaucrats in the state have been in disarray. Not all of them, of course, but the majority who are committed to work and service of people are certainly feeling the discomfiture.

Deprived of suitable postings where they could function more effectively and deliver better, most of the bureaucrats – particularly the younger lot – are left distressed.

Obviously, this state of despondency among the cream of civil servants – a result of abysmal cadre management – has left a telling impact on the administration in the state.

Administration had, literally, gone to dogs during the regime of (late) Y S Rajasekhara Reddy between 2004 and 2009. And, the rot seems to be continuing even under his successor K Rosaiah.

When S V Prasad, the 1975-batch Indian Administrative Service officer, became the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh on December 31, 2009, bureaucrats saw a ray of hope in him. Most of the IAS officers, especially the “juniors”, sincerely hoped things would change under the guidance of S V Prasad as he was perceived to be an able officer who had a better understanding of the “cadre.”

Alas, all such hopes seemed to have dashed.

Reading the latest list of transfers (of IAS officers) affected on April 2, one would be left with a sore feeling.

Here’s a classic example: N Nageswara Rao, an IAS officer of the 1992 batch, has been appointed Collector and District Magistrate of Khammam district. He would now be the senior-most officer among the district Collectors in the entire state. That’s, however, not the news. Nageswara Rao practically has 363 days of service left before he superannuates on March 31 next year.

Now, what’s the sense in appointing such an officer to an important post as a district Collector? Another officer M Purushottam Reddy of the 1996 batch, who has been appointed as Collector of Mahbubnagar district, is just two years away from retirement.

Of the 23 districts in the state, 11 districts now have promotee IAS officers as Collector and District Magistrate. Exclude the state capital Hyderabad district, it become 50:50 for regular recruits and promotees. This is something that hasn’t happened in the past.

Also, why did the government develop a sudden love for such officers and land them in prime posts? Nageswara Rao and another IAS officer P Venkateswarlu (1994), posted to Adilabad district as Collector, have already risen to the rank of ‘Secretary to Government’ and should ideally be relegated to suitable postings in the Secretariat or other departments.

There are many young and deserving IAS officers, that too regular recruits, eagerly waiting to be posted to the coveted job of a district Collector. These are the ones who actually need to be posted in the districts so that they can move around with agility, work with more vigor and produce better results. But certainly not the ones who are on the verge of retirement.

Consider another ridiculous thing: Natarajan Gulzar has been appointed Collector and District Magistrate of Hyderabad. He is an IAS officer (regular recruit) of the 1999 batch. Now, he will boss-over a promotee officer V Durga Das (Joint Collector), who technically is one year senior to him in the IAS.

This isn’t the first instance where such postings were given. During YSR’s regime, a similar thing happened in West Godavari where Lav Agarwal (1996 batch) was the Collector and B Ramanjaneyulu (1995) was the Joint Collector.

The Chief Minister might be unaware of such technicalities but what were the top bureaucrats, who were supposed to guide him in such matters, doing? Was the Chief Secretary unaware of these lapses? Was also the Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary Jannat Husain ignorant about it?

Such goof-ups will not only show them in poor light but also threaten to damage the system as such.

Article On Corruption

Dear Friends,

I am posting here an article on corruption. Its very important topic and an area where the student has to express his view carefully. So how much ever you read on corruption - you need to select important points and add it to your self notes. As always balanced view is rewarded.

Regards
GMStudyCenter

Enemy within

ON the 125th anniversary of the Congress party, observed on December 28 in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh listed the four major challenges before the country: terrorism, communalism, naxalism and regionalism. One cannot quarrel with that statement, as these are indeed formidable concerns. But he might have added one more to the list, something that is an insidious and persistent cancer in public life, that has vitiated every arm of governance and every public institution, including the judiciary and the armed forces. Corruption.

It is a phenomenon that never ceases to astonish – that so many persons who are educated, and educated well in many cases, who are trained to serve the country, who are shaped and disciplined to act even if it means sacrificing their lives, should then become common thieves, helping themselves to bribes, to pilfering public funds and behaving in the same manner as burglars and ruffians. One wonders how these people can face their families, their wives, sons and daughters – assuming they are not party to the thievery of their fathers. They will, of course, have the usual, and often comic, defence – they are innocent; they have been set up; they are victims of a deep and dark plot by deep and dark people. But given the elaborate provisions of the law that this privileged lot has to protect itself, put in place many years ago by those who needed them to help themselves to public funds and fat bribes, it is a wonder that they have been caught and charge-sheeted. And if they have been, the Central Bureau of Investigation must have foolproof cases; its officers would not risk their own careers otherwise.

Where and how does it start? Consider an Army officer. He starts out with his course-mates, and while some of them sacrifice their lives in a major conflict or a skirmish, he goes on to become a general, even an Army Commander, and while becoming one, begins to steal and thieve. He enters into sleazy deals with people who are the scum floating in the darkest levels of society, people with whom he would, in normal circumstances, never have had dealings of any kind. But he does. Consider an Indian Administrative Service officer, who is assumed to be bright – he does pass two examinations to get in, one of which is fairly rigorous. As he is entrusted with more and more responsibilities, eventually as Chief Secretary in a State, he has begun to put his hand in the till, no different in any way from the traffic constable who takes hafta from truck drivers every evening to buy his drink. Except that he takes much more, crores, to be precise, and he wears a suit, or that dreary uniform of the bureaucrat, the bandhgala, the buttoned up suit.

We have examples in the judiciary as well, not only in the lower courts but in the highest court in the state. What happened? Were they not earning enough as lawyers before they were made judges, and as judges, was their salary really inadequate? When they were made judges, were they not selected because of their distinguished record as lawyers or in the judicial service? What happened after that?

Going down the ladder, all of us know that there is not a municipal corporation or municipality that is not eaten up by corrupt officials at all levels and that nothing, literally nothing, can be done without paying them. The police forces are, of course, no less corrupt, and it is said that an honest constable is generally considered by his peers to be a consummate fool.

This cancer is something the Prime Minister has mentioned in some of his public addresses or statements, but it is something about which, one has to say with great sadness, nothing of any substance has been done. Commissions and committees are no remedy. This is a disease that has to be diagnosed and studied by the Prime Minister and some of the close colleagues – carefully selected by him personally – acting quietly and in secret.

Only then can they come up with some answers and some action to eliminate corruption, or at least make it difficult for public functionaries to take to corrupt ways. The answers have to be imaginative and unusual because the corrupt are among the most clever and perceptive and will find their way round things as simple as an order to declare assets and the like.

They must begin by trying to determine what makes an officer corrupt. Education? Family influence? Values learnt from associates? If they can identify the factors the remedies may suggest themselves. Again, the temptation to appoint a committee must be resisted. They can call in some whose opinion they feel will help them and talk to them. But that is all they must do. They will, of course, know that there will have to be different courses of action for different levels of public activity. There can never be one answer to this problem.

It is important that no less a person than the Prime Minister considers this urgently because he knows that the work planned by his government may come to nothing because of this all-pervasive disease.

There is something else that he surely knows only too well – that corruption goes hand in hand with influence and nepotism. Not too long ago the country was appalled to learn of the manner in which a senior police officer sexually molested a 14-year-old girl and then stalled all proceedings against him for 19 years, until the media blew the whistle on him. The case of the Indian Police Service officer, S.P.S. Rathore, highlights what influence can do to derail all attempts to get justice.

What is absolutely essential in public life, in our institutions, is not getting justice. Justice is a word that is defined differently for different things, and tied up with fine, legal interpretations that usually make it ineffective or inadequate.

What is essential is that right is done. This is non-negotiable. If right is done, or is sought to be done, by the one single power in the country that does not have even the faintest stain of corruption, then we may survive through this new year to the next

Looking Positively of North Karnataka Flood

Dear Friends ,

The following article gives some points for disaster management in the public administration syllabus. Though it speaks of the North Karnataka flood scenario it can be used for answer writing for any disaster and to find positive impacts of disaster.

Regards

GMStudyCenter

I have greatest sympathy for those whose life is can no more be called as life. In this grave scenario 'WHAT WE CAN DO' carries most significance than what has been happened and HOW WE CAN BUILD is of utmost importance than what has been destructed also how we can prevent these kinds of natural disasters should be given importance than only to bring their life to normalcy.

Though this is by far the worst calamity in NK , it provides immense opportunity to nation building activities for the administration in power and can be utilised to build real 'Siri Gandhada Gudi' ( land of sandalwood)

What can be done ?

Ofcourse our priority has to be - to bring the normalcy as soon as possible but it should not be done in a hurry and only for name sake.

Instead of giving them the life that they were living why not give them a better life ?

With this unwanted flood , we can remove THE SLUMS in entire NK by good planning - as everything that has to be destroyed to remove a slum has been done free of cost ! ( sorry if it sounded surcastically but I hope you can understand what I am telling ) and an unwanted opportunity to build from the scratch has been provided So why not make the most of it?

NK needs better irrigation system badly and requires small / big dams whereever possible which are oriented towards irrigation and building dam needs lot of displacement of people and needs lot of land acquisition activity - currently we have already displaced people and why not provide them good lands and accomodation now itself so that we can build good water reservoisers in future ?

Leave aside dams , for that matter any infrastructure building activity requires land acquisition - like SEZs , roads , industrial development ..why not identify the land now and promise those displaced people of better future.

In all the above tasks there is one common challenge-to convince the people and appropriately compensate them.

Most importantly this 'act of god' should provide good opportunity for the district administration to plug the gaps in disaster management.

While all these things takes time and political will and takes good visionary to make them visualise the better future - the question is who will bell the cat. Or does the governament know this can be done.

I hear a back bench voice telling me - if the government was this wise - this calamity would not have happened !!!

People have lost faith and hope in political promises and politicians have lost credibility among people. So they are not even giving good hopes to hope less people. Now you know Obama did not win the Nobel for nothing - its here he is successful - creating HOPE.

How it can be done ?

The immediate need for those displaced is to provide shelter , food and medical facilities this can be done as Srilanka did in a recent refugee camp during its full blown assault on LTTE. So lets establish a refugee shelter on a temporary basis instead of start building the houses where they were earlier and buy time say 3-4 months. This time can be utilised for the planning and with whole of government's resource at the disposal this is not an impossible task.

Though the task is easier said than done - it is not impossible - If the money available at governament's disposal is used efficiently without corruption the task is not difficult. Then remains convincing and promising the people of better future. If government does credible job withoug politicising the issues even this is not difficult and can be achieved.

In the worst case lets think - not all of what I mentioned above is not possible but two things can be definitely achieved - administration reforms in handling the disasters and removing the slums and building better connectivity

I only wish so called IAS officers will make better use of this opportunity in bringing the light to those lives whose life has been destroyed. With the amount money at the disposal I am not sure of the people affected by the flood but more than 100% sure that SOME officers' life will prosper.

Administrative Challenges in India

India is country with lot diversity. It is believed that if you travel every 100 km the language dialect will change, if you travel every 500km there is a change in the way people live,if you travel every 200 km there is change in food habits,there are around 1000 languages and equal number religions and so wide is the people's thought.

Administration becomes easier if there is some sort of uniformity. In India,if there is any uniformity it is only in diversity i.e diversification is spread uniformally. In otherwords to put it simply we see diversity everywhere.And Administration becomes really challenging in this diversified environment. More over diversity is in huge chunk i.e population !! .Only Sheer size of this population really becomes a monster for administrator. So in these scenario how to administer is a big question.

Let us see the some aspects that an administrator has to take care -

.Region and religion

.People's ignorance

.Population

.Politicians

.corruption

.Poverty

Region and religion

India is geographically so varied that there are very few places where there is no 'natural problems'.At one place  it rains and one place there is no rain .One place there is flood and at other there is severe drought.( ofcourse there are some man made drought too).Apart from this region to region living style of people change and also religion If for region one policy is applicable and for other region you need to come up with something else.And since there are numerous religion people in the same region also calls for policy diversification. So to evolve a solution to the problem becomes secondary in most of the cases but to look for a solution which satisfies all the people ( because of political gains in some cases ) or a majority of the people who are in that particular region becomes important because majority gives the VOTE.

People's ignorance

Partly illiteracy is contributing to this. Most of the citizen's doesnt know what are the benifits that they are entitled to from the governament. They are not aware of their rights and becoming scapegoats of this ghost called corruption at every step. If this is one sort of ignorance , there is other sort of ignorance. Say a politician or a film actor dies , because of this people commit suicide or people start violence. Who has to tell them that the person who is dead cant be brought back but your life is as precious as theirs. Recently in AP when  the CM YSR died of an unfortunate accident nearly 200 people committed suicide , what is the need ? these kinds of incidences happen due to sheer ignorance of people.

And worst is , it is not only illiterate people who are ignorant but also well and sophisticatedly educated people act in a most embarassing manner ( for example 'educated terrorists'). And even these people look for shorter and individual gains rather than public well being. I had to quote a recent incidence here which I came across.The MLA of our area had come to check for people's grievances ( one of those rare MLA who atleast bothered to come !!!) and people who are well educated ,instead of discussing the genuine problem with him , were discussing how the foot path infront of their house is to be constructed by the muncipality!!!

Population

With having 1/6 the of the world's population and the available resources are not utilised so as to be beneficial to most and this mis-management of resources coupled with scarcity of resources would throw a catastrophe. So it is becoming increasingly difficult for the administration to provide even the basic needs for the people.

Politicians

Though our most politicians themselves are ignorant and illiterate ( and in worst cases criminals too) they have a bright mind in playing provocative and populist politics.Provocative in the sense regional and religious provocation, populist in the sense - coming up with plans for shorter gains without thinking of future implications. And most of the times politicians will spend time in correcting / modifying or completely scraping what has been done in the previous regime without actually doing impact analysis. What I mean here is - if accidently some party comes up with a novel plan with real concern for people ,the next regime will change those plans because of political gains.

Corruption

The corruption has become institutionalized to such an extent that , if by devine intervention you see some honest people you will see him as in efficient and doubt his actions. The real problem is people are increasing adopting themselves to corruption either being part of the corruption or by involving in the corruption. This has become a vicious circle.For example if a civil engineer is killed for not paying Rs 25 lakh of party fund then is it not like telling from the top that 'see you have to be corrupt in order to give us the money' or else how a sincere governament employee can pay such a huge amount?

Poverty

Poverty is one of the main reason why people tend to look for short term gain.And this is the reason why peoplecan be manipulated either during a implementation of a plan or during an election.Because of this it will be very difficult to convince the people of larger and future implications of the shorter gains.Poverty can also causes law and order problem . Imagine a person whose family is dying of starvation and didnt have anything to eat for days together , and a person approaches him and offers a hundred rupee note to pelt a stone at a vehicle then do you think he will listen or think about the morality.

Silver lining

However even in these extremely hostile environment it is good to see that we are progreesing slowly and steadily.Our growth rate may not be the one which can be compared to either Germany or Japan ( after their devastation in World War-II) but satisfying factor is we are not regressing.And if we think India is still in one single piece it is because of 'something which is going right' and it is because of this there are some administrator who are really 'Iron Frame' of the country. Otherwise we would not have seen RTI ( right to information),right to education , women reservation etc.

Need to revisit provisions giving protection to corrupt public servants

There is popular saying - If you see a place where there is no corruption..then you are in illusion .Such is the rampant spread of corruption across the globe and there is no heavenly place on earth where there is nil corruption. Its only that at one place there is less corruption and other place there is more corruption. Its like choosing best among the worst. Corruption is one of the problem which a nation faces within the system.It is an internal problem along with many. So its up to future civil servants to come up with a determination to tackle this without being a part of it.

Law Minister Mr Veerappa Moily - proposes to amend constitution regarding the provisions giving protection to corrupt public servants. This can be incorporated in mains answer writing - for the measure to curb corruption among public servants. In this you can show the examiner that you have understood the provisions of constituion and your answer look different.

Regards
GM StudyCenter

(source 'The Hindu')

New Delhi: Union Minister for Law and Justice M. Veerappa Moily said on Sunday that the Centre would consider amending Articles 309, 310 and 311 of the Constitution, thus removing protection and safeguards in prosecuting corrupt public servants.

He said prior sanction should not be necessary for prosecuting a public servant “who has been trapped red-handed or found in possession of assets disproportionate to known sources of income.”

The Minister, in his valedictory address at a national seminar ‘Fighting Crimes Related to Corruption,’ was responding to a suggestion by Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan on Saturday for amending the laws to provide for confiscation of properties of persons convicted in corruption cases.

The seminar was organised jointly by the LNJN National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science and the CBI.

Mr. Moily said: “There is a feeling that the protection given to the public servants under Article 311 of the Constitution is being used to create obstacles for expeditious punitive action.” He said: “Article 311 as interpreted by our courts has made it very difficult to deal effectively with corrupt civil servants.”


He said: “There is no gainsaying that the provisions of Article 311 have come in the way of bringing corrupt civil servants to book. Article 311 would require a revisit.” It might be repealed along with Article 310 and legislation should be passed under Article 309 to provide for the terms and conditions of service of public servants, including necessary protection against arbitrary action.


The Minister said: “The menace of corruption is an important issue that is bothering the policy makers, administrators and the general public for a long time. The prevalence of widespread corruption and ineffective anti-corruption interventions in this country has led to public cynicism.”

Economic necessity


“The fight against corruption is not only a moral imperative but an economic necessity for a nation aspiring to emerge as a global player. Corruption discourages investment (foreign/domestic), harnessing of best technologies, resources etc. that requires transparency, fair play and is an impediment for integration with the global economy. Fighting corruption and building good governance are of paramount importance for achieving rapid economic development.”

The Minister suggested wide-ranging reforms to curb corruption — the scope of the Prevention of Corruption Act should be widened to include gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic institutions amounting to wilful violation of the oath of office, abuse of authority by unduly favouring or harming someone, obstruction of justice, squandering of public money and collusive bribery.

Forfeiture Bill


Mr. Moily said the Corrupt Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Bill, as suggested by the Law Commission, should be enacted without further delay; steps should be taken for immediate implementation of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act 1988 and statutory protection for whistleblowers and victim protection.

Drought management from District Administration Perspective

Here below is one article from 'the hindu' on current drought management.

One of the important aspect for pub-ad student is to analyse and understand the current administrative systems in the light of colonial hangover.Our administration is still a shadow of british administrative system on many fronts. The article analyses some reasons for the failure of drought management in India and some solutions for the same which can be used in answer writing.

Regards

GMStudycenter

During episodes of food scarcity caused by drought and failure of the rains of the kind that looms over large parts of India today, district authorities in India are still substantially guided by updated versions of Famine Codes that were initially d eveloped by colonial administrators. Their main objective was to save lives at minimal cost to the colonial exchequer. There is considerable irony that updated versions of these colonial Famine Codes continue to be the principal guide to public authorities in times of natural disaster in free India.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the people of India were ravaged by a series of cataclysmic famines, precipitated less by failures of nature and more by colonial policies, such as of rack-renting, both legal and illegal, neglect of agriculture, “free-trade” policies and additional levies for wars. There are terrifying contemporary accounts of these famines, such as of rivers “studded with dead bodies”, of whole settlements being wiped out by hunger and epidemics that followed in their wake, of desperate loot and plunder, and the cumulative tragic loss of a numbing 15 million women, men and children.

Initial codification

Initially, the colonial government had no cohesive policy to deal with these emergencies, except to prevent hoarding and crime, which was followed by ad hoc relief measures such as stray food kitchens, poorhouses and public works. The Famine Commission appointed in 1878 resulted in the first Famine Code, and this was adapted as a national model, adapted in different regions of British rule. These Codes provided comprehensive institutionalised guidelines to colonial administrators. These included instructions to anticipate famines, and to save life but explicitly at the lowest possible cost to the exchequer, by providing employment at subsistence wage, and “gratuitous” relief to the “unemployable”.In independent India, State governments variously adapted and amended these Famine Codes. However, the shadow of the values of colonial administration continues to fall long on the culture and practices of the executive in crafting its response to food scarcity, even 60 years after freedom.

The first continuity is that all Famine Codes, both colonial and contemporary, cannot be enforced in any court of law. They lay down duties of various public authorities, but contain no provisions that enable citizens (or subjects) to take these authorities to court, or to penalise them, if they fail in performing these duties, even if this leads to the preventable death and suffering of people. In democratic free India, governments continue to often act late and inadequately, but people who are denied food have no legal recourse to hold them accountable.

British Codes were explicit in casting a duty on public officials to spend the minimum that was necessary, only to prevent the loss of lives, and nothing beyond that. The 1941 Bengal Famine Code, for instance, puts it starkly: “Government is obliged to limit its assistance to what is absolutely necessary for the preservation of life. When life is secured, the responsibility to the afflicted ceases and the responsibility to the tax paying public begins”.

Inhuman conditions

This minimalising of relief was accomplished in part through a series of stern “tests”, to discourage all but those unfortunate persons who were most in most drastic need to report for work. For this, wage seekers had to agree to undertake hard monotonous work, in bleak and austere camps, far away from homes. There is evidence that Indian famine practices were the model used later in concentration camps in the Holocaust.

At one level, much has improved since Independence. As in the past, governments rely mainly on public works for ensuring adequate food to households in trying times of food scarcity. Enduring small public works closer to the homes of people affected by scarcity are now recommended, and there is legislation to ensure equal wages for men and women and for banning child labour (although some field studies report that children continue to be bserved in some relief works, helping their parents).But wages are still fixed at bare subsistence levels, just sufficient for survival of the person and dependents. Drought Codes of most State governments today still contain no provision for raising wage rates in times of great distress. Instead, they actually reduce it on the specious grounds of reaching larger numbers. Workers in practice (in relief and even NREGA works) are paid on not just the basis of daily attendance, but on the amount of work done, an illegal and exploitative “double whammy”. The worker cannot leave if the work required is completed early, and is not paid more if more work is done. In effect, the minimum wage is also the maximum wage.

Not enough

In some of the major scarcities and droughts from the 1960s to late 1980s, there was relatively greater fiscal freedom to local officials to respond to actual demand for work, but from early 1990s, relief work is seriously constrained by resources, and only minimalist interventions are permitted. NREGA rectifies this with its statutory guarantee of work, but it still is not an open-ended warranty, as it ensures 100 days of work and that too for only one person in each rural family a year, regardless of the specific exigencies of emergency situations. Public works continue to be closed before the onset of the rains, rather than with the reaping of the harvest, as in colonial times, and these can be periods of most severe food deprivation.

The Famine Codes of the past recognised that non-farm rural poor persons, like artisans and weavers, may be very hard hit by famine, but did little to address their food needs, although they were not equipped physically and culturally to participate in the kind of manual labour that is required in public relief works. Although weavers and other artisans continue to suffer enormous setbacks today, even more so because of their highly unequal integration with global markets, and reports pour in of both starvation and suicides by weavers, they are neglected even in contemporary Codes.

Those who are most vulnerable in times of food scarcity are old people, single women, disabled people and children. Colonial Codes contained niggardly provisions for them of “gratuitous relief”, and contemporary governments have not graduated even today to a comprehensive regime of social security. The easiest way would be to upgrade current food programmes in times of scarcity, with ICDS centres serving twice the quantities of food, as well as feeding the infirm and destitute; schools should provide meals round the year and even to out-of-school children; and families in scarcity areas should receive larger quantities of cheap grain.

Breaking free of the past

As prospects of food scarcity resulting from failures of the monsoon once again looms over large parts of the country, we must seize the moment to break away decisively from the dubious colonial legacy of Famine Codes. The duties of the State to people threatened with hunger in such times must be codified in a law which must surge much beyond the minimalist agenda of past Codes, which continued to ensure little more than to prevent mass deaths in famines at minimum cost to the State exchequer. A law to guarantee the right to food should instead need to contain cast-iron provisions to protect all men, women and children from food denials, hunger, malnutrition and starvation, both in conditions of unusual emergency and in more normal times. It is only then that we will finally break with our colonial past; and free ourselves from our collective memories of suffering and death, resulting from State failures which condemned millions of people to live and die with hunger.

MP IAS caught with pants down: A villain or a victim?

Friends ,

This post is not related to exam as such but would like to emphasise couple of things! Here I am providing with two articles and a link to video clip on youtube.

What happened ?
An IAS officer is being caught in a compromising position / posture with a boy. The camera men flooded the officer with questions and he is telling he is being framed. He was suspended and then now he is reinstated for lack of proof.

Clearing the exam is one thing but once you become IAS the responsibility put on your shoulder is even more important . In this case if the IAS officer actually on the wrong side or not no one knows but if what he is telling is the truth i.e 'he is being framed' then I would blame the IAS officer himself than the people who framed. He is one of the best got selected in the country at the national level competition , he should be able to rescue himself first , from those who are trying to frame , if he is not able to rescue himself then how can he ADMINISTER ?

Ofcourse in this case he is reinstated to service but what about the awkward TV scene ? it is black mark to his career. Somewhere I read that getting cheated is more dangerous than cheating itself. It is very important that you dont cheat anyone but more important is you should not get cheated by someone. You have to keep your eyes and earls open all the time and know whats happening around you so that you can safeguard yourself all the time.

IAS is a constitutional position and you dont want to reduce its dignity by being in such an awkward situation . Hope you all become wonderful officers.

Rgds

GM Study Center.

The below link gives the link video footage available on youtube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijOW4qSbBYw

The article below is the latest one which says  IAS officer is let out without proving guilty.

Source of the article -

(http://www.mynews.in/News/IAS_reinstated_as_charges_not_proved_of_unnatural_offence_N25448.html)

IAS reinstated as charges not proved of unnatural offence

Bhopal: An Indian administrative officer of the Madhya Pradesh government, Gyaneshwar B Patil, who was suspended two months back for committing unnatural sex with his office subordinate, has been reinstated.

The Madhya Pradesh government's General Administration Department yesterday issued an order for reinstatement of Patil as the charges levelled against him by the Sikandarabad (Berasia) Village Panchayat Secretary, Satish Choukse were not substantiated in the probe conducted by the government, official sources said here today.

However, no decision has been taken so far against the new posting of Patil, a 2003 batch IAS officer, they said.

On the instructions of Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the State government had suspended Patil on June 19 as he was allegedly found in suspicious circumstances with Choukse at the Zila Panchayat Office here on the night of June 18 and local TV channels showed half-naked images of the two employees, clicked in the bathroom.Later, Choukse alleged that Patil, the then Chief Executive Officer of Zila Panchayat, had forced him to commit unnatural sexual act.

Exulted with the decision, Patil said that he had been framed by some vested interests and his reinstatement speaks about his innocence.

 

The article below is the first article where IAS officer is accused and gives a detailed account of the incident

 

Source of the article is -

(http://www.merinews.com/article/mp-ias-caught-with-pants-down-a-villain-or-a-victim/15776818.shtml)

 

MP IAS caught with pants down: A villain or a victim?

 

IF SOURCES are to be believed then the Madhya Pradesh IAS official, who was shown with his pants down in his office and later suspended by the Chief Minister for allegedly seeking sexual favours, could be a victim of a sting operation gone wrong rather than being the villain that he is being made out to be.

Dnyaneshwar Patil, a 2003 batch IAS official was suspended by the MP Government after he was filmed and shown on television without his pants along with a junior official.

People close to Patil and in the know of things are of the opinion that the IAS officer has been framed for not acquiescing to the unjust demands of a lobby of lower officials. They alleged that the entire sequence of filming Patil without his pants was planned and executed with an ulterior motive.

However, there is also a section of establishment in Madhya Pradesh, which believes that there can be no smoke without fire. A top media person based in Bhopal averred that no doubt a conspiracy was hatched to trap the IAS official but there were some chinks in his armour as well, pointing to the obvious.

Narrating the entire sequence of events on the fateful day inside the chamber of Dnyaneshwar Patil, a highly placed source pointed that the officer could have been a victim of a conspiracy. Rubbishing the allegations of sexual harassment against Patil, he said that the officer was well known for his honesty and was a stickler for rules and that proved to be his undoing.

On the night of June 18, Dnyaneshwar Patil and his wife went to Rainbow hospital for treatment of their daughter around 8.30 pm. Thereafter, Patil was dropped at the Zila Parishad office around 9.10 pm and his wife went home to attend to the ailing child.

At around 9.30 pm, the alleged victim, Sikandarabad village panchayat secretary Satish Chaukse (23) dropped in the Zila Parishad officer, where there were two home guards present along with a private vehicle’s driver.

Chaukse was asked to come with the details of the expenditure made by the Self Helf Group (SHG), which is running the MDM in the Village school. Sources said that the Secretary to Chief Minister had asked Patil to do a cost analysis of the various items made by SHG, so that the system could be extended to Mahila Baal Vikas department in Madhya Pradesh and he had asked for a report by next morning. Thus, it became necessary to allow the Panchayat Secretary into the office where he was attending to regular file work.

However, when Chaukse reached the chamber of Dnyaneshwar Patil and was asked to show the records of the MDM, he baulked and instead produced the records of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREG). Chaukse, when asked, why he had not brought the MDM record, could not reply satisfactorily. He looked ill at ease and asked for a glass of water to drink.

Sources said that Patil asked Chaukse to go out and fetch water for him too after repeatedly sounding the bell, which was not attended to. After some time, Chaukse returned and brought water for the IAS officer, who was now going through the records (Rozgaar Panchi) of NREG, which were also not proper and the officer admonished him for the same.

Even as the IAS officer was going through records, Chaukse demanded that secretary of Bakaniya Gram Panchayat should be given regular pay scale, which Patil said was not possible as per law. Apparently angered by the refusal, Chaukse is alleged to have threatened the official and demanded regular scales for all secretaries.

Patil, however, said that regularisation depended on good work and the secretaries will again be given a chance next year as per provisions. As the discussion heated up, Patil asked Chaukse to leave the room and went to the attached toilet in his room to attend the nature's call.

The real drama, sources said, unfolded here as soon as Patil went inside the toilet, Chaukse started shouting 'Bachao, Bachao' loudly. Hearing the commotion a worried Patil opened the toilet door to see what had happened outside.

As soon as the door was opened, Chaukse, who was in his undergarments and shoes pulled open the door and barged into the toilet. Immediately, thereafter, Chaukse called the media men, who were waiting outside the cabin. Though Patil's cabin had no lock, the media preferred to stay outside till they got the signal that action had started.

Sources further alleged that one of the persons snatched the pant from hands of the IAS officer even as he was trying to wear it. In the video made available by a news channel, there is a scene of a a person preventing Patil from getting back his pants. These pants were returned to the hapless officials after some time and he wore them soon after, the sources added.

The travesty is that despite the best efforts of the police and a complaint lodged to the effect in the State Human Rights Commission, the unedited tapes of incident are not being made available. The truth of the version of the alleged complainant and that of Patil could be easily verified by looking at these tapes – but than the “unedited” tapes that were given to the district administration, ironically start from the clips as seen on TV, it was stated.

Indeed, there is a few seconds clip of the verandah but thereafter, the camera shows the face of Patil, it was disclosed. The video recording of the “distance” between Patil’s chamber door and his toilet door is conspicuous by its absence. And this is what people closely following the case are waiting to see!

Whether the media was taken for a ride or it was assured of Patil's guilt is an open question. However, it is important that the judgement is not pronounced before proper investigation is conducted and justice is duly served.

General Stuff - Internal instability is India's worst threat

The source where I am taking this article - http://www.upiasia.com/Human_Rights/2009/08/20/internal_instability_is_indias_worst_threat/4777/


The article gives general idea and the heading itself is a catchy one and gives reality , rather than outsiders India is spending half the security resources on Internal problems , naxalism , problem of Kashmir , cast wars , regionalism, North East , etc ...the following article is just one face of many problems.


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www.Publicadministrationforias.blogspot.com




Internal instability is India's worst threat


Geneva, Switzerland — Seven-year-old Juni Kumari was found missing from her house in Ghagni village in India’s Bihar state on Aug. 12. Three days later her body, with head shaven and sandalwood paste on her forehead, was found abandoned in a sugarcane field near her village.


Finding her daughter murdered, Juni’s mother filed a complaint with the local police. Investigations revealed that the girl was a victim of human sacrifice conducted by some Hindu priests in the village. The police reportedly arrested a priest, the prime suspect in the case.
On Aug. 17, in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat state, Muslim and Hindu communities started an armed riot over the petty issue of a religious procession passing by a Muslim school. The police had to resort to firing guns to disperse the fighting mob, which in a matter of hours destroyed buildings and looted properties and business establishments.
On July 23, in a fabricated “encounter” – an incident in which police intentionally shoot a suspect or accused person under the guise of self-defense – police commandos in the city of Imphal, capital of Manipur state, killed Chungkham Sanjit, a 27-year-old youth. In the same incident a woman, seven months pregnant, was killed, while five other civilians were seriously injured.
Justifying this atrocious incident in the state legislature later that day, Chief Minister of Manipur Okram Ibobi Singh informed the state and fellow legislators that terrorism in the state could only be controlled by firm police action. In a single statement Singh not only justified the irresponsible police action, but also declared the two innocent civilians killed were terrorists, denying their families even a simple apology.


Despite the many internal threats like those cited above, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his Independence Day address to the nation on Aug. 15 said, "Terrorism and border infiltration from the neighboring countries is the greatest threat the nation faces."


External threats have been and will remain a threat to India's internal security. However, such threats are not unique to India or for that matter to any particular state. Threats from outside the nation's borders gain seriousness in a country where internal stability is weak.
It is similar to the human condition; a person becomes more vulnerable to infection when his or her internal defensive mechanism is compromised. In such a condition, any sensible physician would first attend to the patient's immune system rather than focusing on removing external pathogens over which neither the patient nor the physician have much control.


The prime minister of India plays a role similar to that of a physician. If the focus is merely on external threats over which the country or its government has no effective control, it cannot improve the country's security.


The biggest threat to India's internal security is its own law enforcement agencies. Atrocious acts involving serious violations of policing standards – like what happened in Imphal – have isolated law enforcement agencies from the people. A law enforcement agency that lacks the support and confidence of the people can neither enforce the law nor be of any help to them.
There is no legislative or normative framework in the country to control its law enforcement agencies. Accountability and transparency are unheard of within India’s law enforcement community. Officers are notorious for corruption and the use of arbitrary force on suspects rather than seeking real solutions to crime.


In India, the use of torture and the practice of extrajudicial execution are so rampant among the police that the term “law enforcement” has become a misnomer when referring to them. But neither politicians like Singh nor other policymakers in India are interested in addressing this issue. Instead, the rhetoric is about threats from outside the country.


In reality, focusing on external security threats is like placing a scarecrow in a paddy field where worms left unattended have already eaten the grain.