Friday, August 31, 2007

Flattery in Offices

Only a few days ago Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Bokaro had touched the feet of Mr. Sibu Soren to greet him in his office before camera in Jharkhand. On 30th of this month Superintendent of Police (SP) Of Bokaro Ms Priya Dubey not only touched his feet WHILE WELCOMING Mr. Sibu Soren in Bokaro but also opened and closed the door of the car carrying Mr. Soren. This is the news item published in the newspaper on 31st August 07.
Is it desirable that a high rank officer like DC or SP give more importance to greasing the palms and feet of MLA/MP or Ministers, or higher post bosses or non-entity like Mr. Sibu Soren instead of showing performance in the real field? Not at all.
But this is not new in the offices / administration. All officers take credit in pleasing his boss or Minister by hook or crook at the cost of quality of work and service to general mass. More clearly such condemnable practice prevails in the entire bureaucracy to perpetrate the chain of earning bribe and sharing with one’s higher bosses. Right from bottom to Top officers ad ministers all are indulged in accumulating wealth by unfair means.
Who will bell the cat?
Right person, honest workers and one who cares for the general boss is never treated fit for cream post. Such man are either shunted in remote or dry places or victimized and made scapegoat for the sins committed by top officials and Ministers. As a result work culture gets diluted and Yesmanism (or Chamchagiri in Common man’s terminology) get empowered in the administrative system in all the departments, government offices, public sector banks and insurance companies and all.

Mr. R.R. Mullick , The DIG of the police said that members of All India services should be aware of the code of conduct taught in the foundation course of the training for the IPS. It is not new that DC or SP of Bokaro succumbed to pressure of higher rank or VIP politicians of the area, it is very common and 90 percent of the person are doing the same and repeating the same in day to day life without any sense of dignity of their post. That is why even police officers in general are snot surprised with the conduct of Ms Dubey because they know very well that flattery is very much usual phenomenon in all offices .For survival in the age of liberalization and privatization one officer has to engage himself in cheap method of gaining good wishes of his bosses for survival as also for becoming rich and having prestigious reckoning in the society. Officers not only touch the feet of the politicians but crawl at before him.

As a matter of fact this dirty culture prevailing in all offices is the root cause of all inefficiecies, non- performance, occurrence of financial fraud, indiscipline and more emphatically the mass annoyance.
Who will cure the system? Who may penalize the real culprit when from top to bottom are thieves and dacoits. One after other committees is constituted for reformation in administration. Reports are submitted and stored in the almirah.Who cares for the report or even public displeasure or public revolt?

Party leaders promise in their political rally so many things but forget all when they are elected and assigned a cream post. After all we are in democratic system and hence these elected representatives become God for all service class people in government offices .It is their office wherefrom the dirty water emanates. Flattery starts from their offices and percolates down the level unto bottom. That is why I never blame civil servants for their so-called non performance or for prevailing corruption in the system like cancer; I squarely put all blames on the shoulders of Ministers and politicians.

We need the person T.N.Sheshan or any hard core honest, strong willed and fully empowered person (like Anil Kumar in film Khalnayak) who can cure and properly diagnose the ailing bureaucracy as well as greedy politicians.
We should not treat the conduct of DC or SP of Bokaro in isolation.If anyone is contemplating reformation and rejuvenation of the the ailing system he must take into view the facts of all offices in genral.We need to ponder over seriously on such matter.We will have to pay heavily for continuous disrespect to quality and merit.

Danendra Jain
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