THE CM SPEAKS, NOW FOR THE BUREAUCRATS TO LISTEN

Letter:
2008: Year of utter disappointment for me and thousands of others like me who did not clear the Sikkim Public Service Commission examination.  Only the best forty made it whether we liked it or not. Our friends and acquaintances became Under Secretaries. And after a point, I too was happy for them. Enough of the resentment and sadness I thought.
2012: Unprecedented mass promotion!
I go into flashback mode and wish I had cleared the exam. I would have been promoted as Deputy Secretary in 2012!
In the viva voce, one of the interviewers while glancing through my CV had commented that I should be in the Social Welfare Department. I replied that I had the passion to serve my State and that was precisely the reason why I had worked hard to get through the examination. Well rest is history.
My joys knew no bounds when Hon’ble Chief Minister while addressing the promoted officers (111 to be precise) on Monday candidly said a few things which resonated deeply with the feelings of the ordinary Sikkimese. We, as Sikkimese, have certain expectation from our officers and bureaucrats. But when the Chief Minister himself voices our concerns, we feel that we have found a voice which will be heard.
The Chief Minister could not have been more humble when he gave the credit for the promotions to others but himself. As always, he urged the officials to perform their duties to the best of their abilities. Being aware of the ‘mukh thuskauney pratha’ that we have, he told the officers to accept their postings gracefully especially postings in rural areas. I hope that the officers underscored this statement of the Chief Minister.  Accepting a posting/ transfer without any hard feelings  is the least we can do to express our gratitude to the State Government for giving us the best of everything.
Talking about responsible bureaucracy, the Chief Minister said that officers should be proactive and they should be more worried and concerned with implementation of programmes and policies instead of criticising them. Let’s leave the criticism part to the opposition parties and arm chair critics.
The Chief Minister also lamented the unfortunate and highly deplorable remarks bureaucrats make.  Like “pahila sarkaar bada budget ley, ani tero kaam garchhu.” This kind of irresponsible attitude will ultimately prove to be detrimental for the image and development of the State.
He also asked officers not to indulge in caste-based bureaucracy. The Chief Minister also highlighted on the need to improve public oriented delivery system. He urged officers to motivate their subordinates and add a personal touch in their dealings and officers need to be just and fair.
A great piece of news came with the announcement by the Chief Minister that from the next fiscal year, 10% of the budget will be allocated for human resource development for preparing our youth for more exposure through coaching for competing in All India examinations including Defence, Bank and other sectors.
I am sure we are all privy to the whispers doing the rounds regarding some officers being utterly neutral. But we need to see if this neutrality is for good or for worse. Sitting on the fence and playing it safe is not going to help anyone. We as government employees must discharge our duties under any circumstance. Let’s not mix politics with our duty.
Last heard, the reconstruction of a large number of houses post September 18th earthquake is still incomplete. Another instance is the recent spate of torching of vehicles in the State. The obvious question people ask is why isn’t the administration taking any action? Why haven’t the culprits been brought to book irrespective of party affiliation? The administration has to restore the faith of the common man by performing its duty. If culprits go scot free, our society will surely degenerate.
We often see some government employees going all out against the Government. What justifies their ungrateful attitude towards the Government which has always worked for the welfare of employees? In this tussle, it is the common man who suffers. It is equally sad to see a single Department being crippled when one employee is on leave.
I have written this article on the basis of second hand information. I was not physically present in the programme. But I don’t think it is necessary to be physically present when you know what exactly the other person is trying to convey and that also for more than seventeen years. The Chief Minister apparently admitted that he is tired of saying the same things over and over again. But seems we are not tired of our ‘chalta hai’ attitude.
I have always followed such speeches of the Chief Minister closely, and one thing I have realised is that he has a lot of expectations from bureaucrats, especially the younger lot. He always stresses on certain things in all his meetings with officials, some of them being the need to be responsible and the need to have a human touch in our dealings with people.
And the best way to express gratitude to the State Government would be to put our best foot forward and work for Sikkim and for all of us!
“Real integrity is doing the right thing knowing that nobody will come to know whether you did it or not.” This quote by Oprah Winfrey sums up the role of government employees I guess.  Let’s do what we have to do without worrying about whether we will get a promotion or a transfer, whether our boss will write kind words in our Annual Confidential Reports, whether we will get the Meritorious Service Award et al. Let’s keep working and let our work do the talk. What say?
Jashoda Chettri [recvd on email]