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department is one of those rare ones which measures its staff requirements on
the basis of principles of operational research. It was a difficult process and
the operative offices would seldom find a worker who could fill up the forms
and project the staff requirements for the office. The result was offices would
mostly function short-handed even though the work load would increase with
efflux of time.This was a constant complaint. The excess work would be managed
by payment of overtime allowances. As under the regional scheme officers of my
rank could create Groups C and D posts I launched a campaign to have the
overdue reviews of establishment carried out. Even during inspections I used to
have such reviews carried out simultaneously. The result was around 80% of the
Circle’s budget meant for the purpose was consumed by Nagpur Region. There was
a little heartburning in other regions but I could not have helped it.
I
knew I had to change the location of my own office. We were too short of
accommodation and were very uncomfortably off. The junior members of staff were
also keen to move out of this departmental building. Soon we got an offer of a
house on the famed Cement Road of Nagpur owned by a former judge. Finding it
adequate we organized a meeting of the Rent Assessment Committee. Even the
Internal Financial Adviser was amenable to the shift. It went through the
processes of examination at the headquarters like a shot and the office moved
in quickly to the new location with brand new items of furniture. Nevertheless,
a chronic complainant, one SC and ST association chief, complained to the CBI
about my alleged ulterior motives. The CBI seized the file from Bombay
headquarters but returned it after a month without any comments. My colleagues
rang up to say that I was on the clear.
Assaults
on matters that had been pricking the staff for long quickly paid dividends and
the reputation of the Region in respect of the works that were being carried out
spread throughout the Circle. Union leaders of other regions would come and
meet me whenever I would be in Bombay. During my two and a half years three
PMGs came and went. Each had come with a little trepidation about Nagpur. After
arrival, however, they found Nagpur was largely quiet. The kind of steps taken
by our office, examples of which have been given above, enhanced the level of
satisfaction among the staff.
As
I mentioned earlier there was not one place in the region barring Wardha that
could claim to be important. Wardha had Mahatma Gandhi’s Ashram and yet it
seemed to have lost traction with visitors. There were two wildlife National
Parks, one each in Chandrapur and Amravati but these did not have much of
wildlife then. In fact, once I drove through TadobaAndhari sanctuary in
Chandrapur without making eye-contact with any animal. Tadoba now seems to have
a flourishing presence of wildlife with a thriving population of tigers.
With
a fresh redistribution of units four more from Western Maharashtra were
transferred to my jurisdiction. Among them were Nanded, a place of Sikh
pilgrimage, and Aurangabad, known for its rock-cut temple at Ellora and
Buddhist cave paintings of Ajanta. Aurangabad had pretty good traffic of
tourists, especially from abroad and hence there were a number of starred
hotels. All the four units were districts that were again economically
backward.
What was evident was that the Western
districts of Maharashtra suffered from apathy and neglect. Although Aurangabad
used to get substantial numbers of tourists yet the tourist sites like Ajanta,
Ellora, Tughlakabad or Kultabad were not properly looked after.I recall having
asked the tourism receptionist at Ajanta for a rest room. He directed me to a
cave converted into a cubicle by curtaining it off with a torn and frayed jute
cloth. Inside there was an enamel pot which was full to the brim with urine.
After managing somehow I came out only to see a large elderly American follow
me into the same cubicle. On inquiry I was told it was none other than Robert
Goheen, the then US ambassador to India. I couldn’t help feeling terribly
ashamed about the shoddy and thoughtless arrangements.
One
of the happiest experiences was a visit to the rural office at Virud, a village
in Chandrapur district. Here a Sikh gentleman had settled down as a forest
contractor. He had migrated from Pakistan at the time of partition. Over time
he became prosperous and bought around 10 acres of land. Here he developed a
flowering and fruiting garden. The remarkable thing about the garden was it grew
temperate and tropical fruits at the same place. He grew apples and mangoes
together. Likewise, he had cashews and almonds growing side by side. Even
coconuts would grow in profusion with very sweet water. He had arranged for
watering the roots by laying pipelines underground all over. He would play
music for his plants early in the morning with the belief that it kept the
plants in happy “frame of mind”. For his expertise in horticulture he was made
a member of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research even though he did not
possess any formal degrees or diplomas.
I
was soon asked to move to the Indian Institute of Public Administration at
Delhi to join the Advanced Professional Programme on Public Administration.
After around two and a half years it was time for me to leave Nagpur. The
departmental staff gave my wife and me a very warm send off. It reminded me of
the send-off I got at Ahmedabad in 1965.
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