The Common(WG) Dilemma

Almost everyone in the country is now worried whether our infrastructure would be ready before the games. The state of affairs at Rajiv Chowk, that are visible to almost all are mainly responsible for this persistent nagging doubt in the minds of all patriotic indians. Recent reports on the disastrous state of affairs at some of our stadiums add to the dilemma. Why the work could'nt have been completed earlier, instead of extending it to the last moment is the question everyone is asking.

Well the answer to this question lies in our way of working. Way of working of the sarkari sector in our nation is the answer to this genuine question. Our way of working that is aptly designed for non-deliverance is responsible for this mess, placing a finger on any individual would not be right.

Ultimately it all boils down to our inept decision making and contractual processes that were designed for a feudal era and are utter failures in the present "fast & furious" era.

My take is that if rains do not lash Delhi area during this monsoons, the civic and sports infrastructure being built will get completed and shall also hold, but if Indra Bhagwan is generous with the monsoon, things may become difficult.

Roles people play

Financial Blues

It is rather unfortunate that most of us mortals, especially those from the hindustani sarkari sector are not able to distinguish rate from revenue. That reduction in rate may lead to rise in revenues is something that many of us are not able to appreciate. This realization dawned on me during my first stint at the (in)famous ITDC and got reinforced during my subsequent stints in the beautiful state of Madhya Pradesh.

Another realization that also got reinforced over time during my service in the sarkari sectors is that finance is not expenditure control, but it is rather unfortunate that it is viewed to be so even by the worthiest and mightiest of the sarkari lot. Well expenditure control is easy as one knows what heads of expenditure to clamp down upon, even if it screws up the operation in the long run. Revenue generation on the other hand is a tough job as one is not able to generally fathom, from which well the revenue stream is likely to come. And so the mediocres, that most of us are, choose the easy path and the casualty is the returns, short term as well as the long term variety.

And therefore one rarely comes across infrastructure projects of the kind that are desperately needed for the growth and development of the country. Tinkering and that too with a lot of fanfare easily passes of as development, that the average citizen is unable to comprehend.

How long shall this nonsense continue in my motherland, is a question that I shall forever be unable to answer. Nonsense for me definitely, way of life for most of the other sarkari mortals with exceptions of course.

Of Think Tanks......

Why the country is fond of "expert committees" and "think tanks" is what I am unable to comprehend. That the fundamental issues are blatantly visible to one and all and they just require a common sense approach for their solution is also widely appreciated. Yes, our zeal to assign even mundane matters to expert committees and think tanks is deplorable, yet it serves a purpose. The purpose is to delay taking any decision and continue with the status quo.

All the various national committees constituted by all and sundry are actually forums for networking and continuously dwelling on mundane issues. They also serve ideally for keeping issues on the back-burner while its members can wine and dine in five star surroundings in the garb of finding solutions. The farcical nature of such committees forced me to resign from one of them recently, in disgust of course.

This non appreciation of highly visible issues has to end. All of us from the sarkari sector, especially those in charge of affairs within their domain have to step forward and handle issues head on, in complete disregard of the price that they may have to pay even for doing developmental works in right earnest. After all we are paid to do a job, a specific job that the nation seeks of us and that job can never be to deal in the mundane stuff.

How I wish that the Prime Minister places a complete ban on creating committees of any kind in the sarkari sector. Let the sarkari mulazims handle issues based on their understanding of the same without seeking advice, support and guidance of all and sundry even for mundane issues.

Of decibels and environment

That output is not a function of decibels or a tense environment is still the belief of some senior railway officers, is a cause of satisfaction. The fact that absolutely honest and good human beings can still rise to the top in the railways, is a silver lining in the otherwise bleak environment that the country has to offer. That a senior officer can remain calm while handling tense and contentious issues is what gives hope in an otherwise hopeless scenario.

Yes, all is not lost yet. Goodness is still revered and good human beings are still liked by the masses in general. A bad human being may attract a lot of sycophants while he is in the seat of power, but these sycophants shall vanish the day the seat is gone. A good human being shall always have support of people, though it is a different matter that such a person is hardly bothered whether he has anyone around him or not.

Presently working with a genuine and a good human being, I consider myself to be fortunate.

Great Railways

Despite all its shortcomings, railways can still boast of a an extremely committed and hardworking staff and also many officers who can be classified in the "super fine" category. Even in my division there are many officers whose capability, commitment, integrity and ability to work hard is something that makes me proud. The railway staff is also generally far superior to their counterparts in other central and state govt departments. The commitment and hard working ability of railwaymen in general is unmatched.

With still a long way to go, the potential for improvements in the railways is massive, but it can still easily be achieved if the brilliant set of its officers (almost all are with exceptions) is trusted, empowered and let free. This is the path that all great organizations and nations have followed in their quest for achieving greatness.

Dancing Symptoms

Dancing to symptoms. A malaise common to almost all bureaucrats, indian of course. Unfortunately the railway bureaucrats are more smitten by the dancing symptoms disease than their colleagues in other parts of the sarkari tantra.

Easy it is, to react to symptoms and therefore the dance emerges as a natural corollary. Difficult it is to identify the disease behind the symptom and almost impossible it is to put in place the treatment required to eliminate the disease, and the bureaucrats are known to take the easy path.

And so the disease remains intact and the symptoms keep on resurfacing one after the other, with variations ofcourse as the diseases that are many in number and still growing are never treated and therefore likely to manifest in many different ways.

And so today the dance may be inspired by symptom A, tomorrow it may be because of symptom B and so on and so forth. The bureaucrats are busy dancing to symptoms and their superiors expect that this dance shall rid the organization of the disease. Well they remain busy of course.

Foolish appears to be a mild word for this bureaucratic behavior. The situation is ridiculous to the extent of being hilarious!