Saturday, November 14, 2009

Why quality deteriorates in government departments

This refers to news item that Madhu Koda men deposited Rs.640 crores in cash in a PSU bank violating the norms and guidelines set by RBI with respect to acceptance of deposit n cash and opening of new accounts. As per Anti Money Laundering Act every bank branch has to report RBI if cash transaction taking place in any day is more than Rs.10.00 lacs. It means the deposit of Rs.640 crores taken place in a bank must come to the notice of CMD of that bank and also top bosses of RBI and Ministry of Finance. But none of the responsible officer took pain to look into such a big transaction taking place in a bank’s branch. None thought it fit to look into reason behind abnormal spurt in deposit of a bank branch. All reports received in a controlling office are either filed to ignored willfully to gain false image. After all it is financial power which empowers terrorists to conduct terror attack on India and it is banking channel which helps them to transact their inward or outward remittance to feed terror camps. Money in hundreds of crores is not remitted in jute bags but through banks only.



Bank Manager can do anything to get deposit because Bank management gives value to those officers who are expert in mobilizing deposit even through ill means. There are hundreds of Managers who indulge in reckless financing in the name of achievement of target with hidden agenda of earning money for self and paying bribe to fetch deposit from government departments or various cash rich person or corporates.



One CMD spoilt Indian Bank to such a large extent that it took ten years for the bank to restore its old good image. As long as the corrupt CMD was in power none had the courage to protest his ill-motive work culture and ill motivated promotions and transfers ordered by him. As long as Madhu Koda was a Minister in the government headed by Arjun Munda CM of Jharkhand and as long as Madhu Koda himself was CM of Jharkhand from 2006 to 2008 none of IAS or IPS officer or even ministers in central government had the courage to protest and stop the corrupt practices of Mr. Koda. Even Naxalites were given the assistance of fund of Rs.1000 crore by Head of the government and none in banking industry could notice the illegal transaction, not to speak of nipping in the bud. None in Income Tax department or any Law enforcing agency could notice the illegal financial transaction taking place at the instance of Madhu Koda. Hundreds of bikes and cars were distributed by Madhu Koda men and none could doubt the motive behind such charity. This is possible under the umbrella of central government headed by the honest and clean Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh. It is not out of place to mention here that it was UPA whose support could make it possible to make Madhu Koda, chief Minister of Jharkhand. It was Lalu Yadav, the scam master who wholeheartedly supported Madhu Koda, an independent MLA to take charge of the state just with the ill motive of keeping BJP out of power.



Everyone worship the person who is in power and the one who dares to utter a single word against the head of the government or head of the department he is to face the toughest posting and such anti boss person can never visualize any promotion or good posting in his career. Every bank in fact in indulged in malpractices in garnering deposits and extending credits to traders .And it is a bitter truth that every banker sitting at the top of affairs knows very well the ground reality of transactions taking place in a bank and understands the pitiable real health of a bank .But who will bell the cat when Ministers and government also promotes and irrigates such bad culture. Harshad Mehta in eighties could cheat CMDs of various banks, RBI and Ministry of Finance not because he was a very talented, educated or a financial expert but because he could understand the weakness of person sitting at the top, he knew the weakness of bankers, he know how to befool government officers through bribes either in cash or in kinds or by extending unwarranted charity to officers, serving him by a car or air ticket.



This is why banking is sitting on explosive of Non Performing assets and gaining name by mobilizing deposit, it may be from anti nationals or even from terrorists. All circulars or guidelines from RBI are nothing but sermons to be preached and kept in files. Even RBI top brasses are happy when a CMD flatter and say yes to every idea mooted by RBI officers. Ministers are happy only when a CMD implements all his policies, ideas and make finances to oral instructions given by FM or his colleagues.



This is why one after other exposure takes place, media makes clamour, committees are formed and finally matter is forgotten. Nothing happens to a person who commits mistakes willingly and nothing happens to those who indirectly support the ill-motivated actions of the corrupt person. As long as we change the culture of flattery and yesmanism, our country cannot dream of execution of any good policy. As long as criminals are getting respect and love from the society honest and talent person cannot come forward to save the country from the hands of corrupt persons.



“Barbad Gulista karne ko ek hi ullu kaphi tha

Anjame Gulista kya hoga jab har sakh par ullu baithe hai.”



Whimsical promotion, whimsical transfer and posting are the root cause of all types of irregularities, deficiencies, corruption, and mal-administration in the family, in the society and in the country as a whole. Whenever a new departmental head joins his duty or a new Chief Minister takes charge of the state, or a new government comes to power at the center, chain of whimsical transfers takes place causing unwarranted annoyance among talented and good workers. Whimsical promotions to flatterer juniors superseding senior good workers are very common in our country.


As long as we are unable to provide a reasoning based transfer and merit based promotion and as long as the wrong doers are not punished by courts in the country in the quickest timeframe we cannot imagine of stopping corrupt practices prevailing and spreading like cancer in the society.


When most of the ministers in the government, most of the MPs and most of the MLAs at state level are corrupt how can they inculcate good practices among IAS officers, judges, other functional heads and subordinate staffs? When person like Madhu Koda or Lalu Yadav or Mayawati become head of a state, corrupt officers will get powerful and cream posting whereas on the contrary good and honest officers working in the administration will be shunted away, deprived of promotion and placed at non-effective dormant posts. One can imagine the fate of the state in such position when the head is the most corrupt

I have experienced when the top in any office or in the government is weak and corrupt, the bottom-line is bound to be corrupt, inefficient and dishonest.

Old proverb “survival for the fittest” no more holds good. Now a day’s survival is possible only for the person who is well versed in flattery to bosses, who can earn money through ill methods and share the same with his bosses. As such it is not astonishing that corrupt persons are placed at top posts including at the post of justice and chief justice of a high court or Supreme Court.

The bitter truth is that there is no foolproof method of providing perfectly merit-based promotion or seniority based promotion in any office. None of the promotion processes can ensure justice to all, justice to the organization and discomfort to none as long as the person responsible for carrying out the promotion process is dishonest and corrupt. When protectors become destructors, damage to society cannot be stopped, the great writer Munsi Prem Chand wrote in his book.

I have been advocating abolishing Interview panel in all promotion processes in all departments and in all organizations because Interview is such a test where Interviewers can easily spoil the candidate’s career. During interview, key role is played by elements like bribe, gift, sources, godfathers, and flattery possessed by employee whose performance is assessed during interview. When Interviewer desires to promote an employee he raises easy questions and on the contrary he may raises toughest and irrelevant questions before the candidate to reject him in the promotion process. The interviewer as per his whims and fancies gives marks for interview and unfortunately there is no method to penalize such malicious interviewers or the interview team made of birds of the same feather. There is hardly any place for merit in the mind of Interview panel and this why whimsical promotions take place and a reign of injustice and that of corruption spreads like cancer and is followed by inefficiency, frustration, depression and what not.

Last but not the least; our courts cannot deliver justice in decades. This eliminates the fear from the minds of interviewer and the aggrieved employee is constrained to bear with the rejection in promotion process. Justice delayed is justice denied. And when there is no hope of justice even from court, aggrieved person in promotion process is left with no alternative other than digesting the poison of injustice. It is an open secret in our society that victim is afraid of lodging complain in police department against any type of criminal. Not to speak of promotions, management can torture an employee by using his power of transfer and posting an employee in the name of exigencies as per his sweet will.



Danendra jain

Agartala

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