In an exclusive interview with Bureaucracy Today, the top Orissa bureaucrat looks back and answers probing questions. Excerpts:
What would you like to do after your retirement on August 31, 2010?
My first desire is that I should be a full-time writer after my retirement. But I won’t mind heading a statutory body if an opportunity comes up.
Do you agree with the impression that bureaucrats rule the roost in Orissa?
It is only an allegation and has no basis whatsoever. In an underdeveloped State, bureaucrats are a policy implementing agency. They are bound to be more visible. They don’t rule the roost, as you say.
They are part of the changing socio-economic process in India. Over the years the bureaucracy has undergone significant changes. Its members are now more emphatic, people-friendly and pro-active.
Kandhamal violence is a blot on you career. Are you not responsible since you were the Home Secretary of Orissa during that troubled time? How do you react to this charge?
Not at all. I must clarify that it is more an ethnic issue rather than a communal one. The problem is not a sudden eruption. It is a socio-economic issue. Kandhas, the original inhabitants of the district, have been economically and socially exploited by non-tribal people who had taken away there legitimate rights. Just before Christmas in 2007, violence cropped up between two communities. Later it took a major turn. Had it been communal as alleged by you and others the entire state of Orissa would have become a trouble spot? Minority communities are living peacefully in Cuttack, Rourkela and other parts of the State, but the violence remained confined to Kandhamal district only.
The Maoists have spread their network and the State Government seems helpless. Is it correct?
Their violence is not a sudden eruption. The Maoists have become a problem for the entire country. During the last 10 years, it has started showing its ugly head. The administration should adopt a more holistic approach to deal with the problem. Apart from maintaining law and order in the Maoist-affected areas, we have to accelerate the developmental process there. I do agree that a number of districts are Maoist affected. We have strengthened our police force and equipped its members with modern weapons to face the new challenges that are emerging.
Being the top bureaucrat what’s your contribution to the development of the State?
I did a lot to usher in change in different sectors. When I was the Revenue Secretary, I was instrumental in formulating and conceptualising the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R & R) policy in 2006. Now it is considered one of the best R & R policies in the country.
During the formulation of R & R policy, a holistic approach was adopted. The policy recognises the voices and needs of indigenous communities and vulnerable sections of society. We have also protected the interests of widows, unmarried girls and divorcees in the policy. The introduction of the land passbook system is also one of the major initiatives from my side.
But why is there opposition to the R & R policy? People are not giving their land for industrial purposes.
The reason is simple. People are emotionally attached to their ancestral land. You see the shirt I am wearing was gifted to me by my daughter. Even if you give me a lakh of rupees for the shirt I will not give it. Ours is an agrarian society- so people are not readily coming forward to give their land. However, their resistance has now lessened. Many projects have come up on the land given by villagers. The resistance to the Posco project has now softened. It is in the realm of possibilities. We have taken a number of steps to stop illegal mining activity.
Your achievements as Chief Secretary?
(Pause for a moment) I have to coordinate the activities of all the 37 departments. If you are a departmental secretary you have to introduce schemes for the welfare of a particular group of people.
But in the case of Chief Secretary, the scope is wide and enormous. For instance, we have come out with corporate manuals.
Do you repent?
No repentance in life. I am blessed with a son and a daughter; they are well placed in America. I have not done anything wrong which should prick my conscience later. I stick to my principles in life and try to take such decisions as could benefit the majority in society.
Your official bio-data remains silent on your literary tastes?
See, I don’t mix up writing with running the administration. These are two different fields. I was a writer when I was not a bureaucrat. Before I joined the Civil Service, about 50 stories written by me were published. Earlier after completing all my official assignments at 9 p.m., I did writing. But after being the Chief Secretary of Orissa, I have not been able to find time to do creative writing. The same thing happened when I was the Home Secretary and Collector during the initial phase of my career.
It is a general belief that bureaucrats don’t like mixing with the common man. Do you agree?
You should look at it differently. Normally a bureaucrat gets a rare opportunity to see a problem from a very close quarter. I was fortunate that I got such a chance. This happened when I was posted in a tribal district and was heading the Dandakarayan Project. I was the Secretary of the Women and Child Welfare Development Department during the super-cyclone in 1999. During this period I witnessed the plight and sufferings of the people. Also I came across the acute poverty of tribals and others during my tenure as Collector. It enriched my experience and later helped me to write a number of books.
