WINDS OF CHANGE

Dadenggiri or Dadenggre (Civil) Sub-division, as some would more habitually say was set up in 1982  and is situated 46 kilometres away from Tura. It is not only one of the largest and most populated sub-division in the state but arguably also the most backward and deprived, suffering as it is from chronic deficiencies and neglect. A typical rural heartland, it has a rundown road and communication network. Only till a few months back the mobiles and landlines never worked during power cuts which were exasperatingly far too may and too long for forbearance. During evenings there was low voltage mistakenly creating the ambience of a candle light romantic setting, except that it was anything but romantic.

It has a vocal and vibrant mix of communities, ethnicity and religious entities. The population is a mix of Bengali-speaking Muslims, predominantly Christian and sundry animistic Garos, Hindu Hajong and Rabha tribes, Bengalis, Hindi-speaking Biharis, Bodos, Koch-Rajbanshis, and also a handful of Nepalis.

 It is an area characterized by partly hilly and mostly plain terrain with the volatile plain area approximately covering 60 per cent of its jurisdictional area.The sub-division is traversed by three gurgling rivulets that pass off as rivers tumbling down the hills stridently and then pensively meandering through the lush green plains.

The sub-division shares its troubled borders with Lakhipur Circle in Goalpara, Assam and Mankachar in Dhubri also in Assam. The roads connecting the two borders have been known for some years as escape routes or safe passages for underground outfits like NDFB, ULFA and LAEF lately. Tikrikilla has an army camp to monitor the movement of the ultras and in tandem with the state police they have notched up success after success. There is also a CRPF camp in Phulbari assisting the state machinery to thwart and neutralize law and order challenges.

The sub-divisional area is diverse, suffers disrepair and dilapidation in the name of road connectivity and is, what one may call, a cauldron of competing and conflicting ethnicities. The last of such episodes had been the riot resulting out of group clash between students of two tribal communities on the eve of idol immersion during Durga Puja in 2006. On 5th October, 2008 an IED blast sent ripples in the state’s administrative machinery and was seen as a brazen announcement of nefarious designs of underground forces putting the state on notice.

However not everything is negative about the place. The abundant greenery of the tea bushes, the monsoon forests, the aroma of fresh forest flowers acts as an anti-depressant to the tormented soul. The people for better or for worse are industrious in the plains and work laboriously to make the most of the rich silt that the voracious Brahmaputra deposits at their doorsteps. The blinding greenery of the paddy fields bear ample testimony to the industry of the poor farmer. The Brahmaputra gives with one hand and takes away from the other, perennially regulating an unhindered cycle of life and destruction. Existence is easier in the hills and fish and fowl are found in plentiful. The streams, rivers and forests abound with life-aquatic and terrestrial. Pineapples, cotton and cashew nuts are also grown in profusion in the hills of the sub-division and are of decidedly superior quality.

Malaria is a scourge in Dadenggiri and most of the Malaria deaths in the district have been sourced to the most interior villages in its underbelly infested with swarms of the unforgiving Anopheles scrounger.

In the midst of these all, as if presiding and towering over the confused and apparently conflicting diversity stands the office of Sub Divisional Officer (Civil), Dadenggiri. An office that has completed 27 years of its existence. An office that had been reeling under the impact of sustained and deliberate neglect to save those who house it the pain of daily attendance and the tedium of non-remunerative government work. An office where till nine months back right was wrong and the opposite so fantastically true. An office that was another name for adhocism. Running bi-weekly it used to cater to the needs of the people as if a huge personal favour was condescendingly being done bending backwards. BSNL and MeSEB could’nt care less too. They weren’t in the mood to spare scarce resources to an apology of an office.

However things have changed. A positive though self–delusional start, a ray of hope and support from visionary superiors in the service, right minded politicians and the process of multi-pronged development started. Change has come to Dadenggiri as a result of this fortunate alignment of forces. What has resulted in a swift diagnosis and speedier reversal of the wrongs and ills that plagued the sub-division.

This change we talk of has many hues. The interventions and outcomes can be categorized into the following :

Supply related matters

There are 74 PDS wholesalers, 315 Fair Price Shop dealers, 365 SK Oil hawkers in Dadenggiri (Civil) Subdivision. 13881 are BPL card holders, 1908 APL while 8638 are AAY card holders. With the sub-division’s population standing at  2,14,295 as per 2001 census and above 3,00,000 as per conservative estimates currently, it is easy to see that Public Distribution System is a mammoth network and it places exceptional demands on the time of the sub-divisional establishment.

Diagnosis of the problems of Supply Branch

• Shortage of inspecting staff
• Lack of awareness about provisions of the Meghalaya Foodgrains (Public Distribution System) Control Order 2004
• Erratic and irregular inspections
• Insufficient control mechanism
• Non-participation of the public and beneficiaries in the PDS

Initiatives to address the problem

• Workshops and Supply meetings to spread awareness about provisions of the Meghalaya Foodgrains (Public Distribution System) Control Order 2004, The Kerosene Oil Control Order, The Petroleum Products Control Order 2000
• Standardized format for show cause and personal hearing notices to be served to erring PDS dealers
• Regular inspections, submission of tour diaries, re-inspections
• Conducting public hearings to discuss complaints against Fair Price Shop dealers, SK Oil hawkers and wholesale dealers
• Directing erring dealers to come for personal hearing before suspension of license and cancellation
• Inviting complaints through wide publicity of awareness campaigns
• PDS information to be put on official website of Dadenggiri (Civil) Sub-division (proposed)
• Videography of inspections
• Bazaar-wise awareness-cum-supply meetings proposed in 12 locations in May and June with surprise raids and inspections
• Swift redressal of public complaints relating to Supply and PDS matters
• Formation of Sub-Divisional Price Vigilance and Monitoring Committee

Office Management and Maintenance

The Inheritance

• Broken tables and chairs
• Cheap décor and finishing
• No notice board or display board
• Unclean office; irregular brooming, sweeping; unsatisfactory cleanliness
• Non functional and virus affected computers
• Non-functional VSAT (high speed internet provided under NIC scheme)
• Blissful ignorance of office procedures, laws, rules and regulations
• No guard file, precedent file, rule book, compendium of circulars
• Poor and irregular file maintenance and data management
• Cramped Supply Branch
• Unclean toilets and no proper drinking facility or waiting space for visitors

What shall pass on

• Change of furniture and improvement of work ambience
• Aesthetic décor and furnishings
• Notice boards for Supply Branch, General Administration Branch and SDO (Civil) Office
• Functional VSAT distributed to LAN network in Election Branch
• New LCD screen computers and repair / auction of old ones (proposed)
• Personal training on office procedures, rules and regulations by Meghalaya Secretariat Manual of Office Procedures
• Acts and legislation procured from the Law Department, Shillong and RR Cell, Meghalaya Secretariat
• Guard and precedent file maintained in the office
• New room for Supply Branch with wooden partition and enclosure
• File maintenance and records maintenance, use of file cabinets
• Data management in soft copy and hard copy formats simultaneously
• 9 KVA diesel generator out of order since years has been repaired and caters to the emergency power needs of this office
• Earmarked waiting space  for visitors

Personnel Management

Understanding the malaise

The questions still trouble me:

• How could an office have survived with this degree of brazen and mindless indiscipline?

• What was behind this utter lack of regulation, disregard for propriety and love for disorder that seems to have got into the DNA of the office staff?

• What has emboldened the staff to the extent that they carry their liquor bottles to their office tables?

• What could be done to rein in the mischief mongers and habitual offenders who care two hoots about discipline and conduct?

Curing the malady

It wasn’t rocket science, as they say, to decipher the cause of this stupidity and shamelessness. The reasons were tell-tale:

Generally the most indisciplined, useless and brazenly arrogant were dumped into Dadenggiri to serve their sentence. The most unproductive and careless were sent to Dadenggiri to teach them a lesson. Having realized that this is the worst that could happen to them, the employees decided their day and time of working and were deliberately indisciplined.

They laboured under the misconception that the worst has already happened and nothing worse could be possible.

They had full faith and trust in their controlling officer who they thought was also suffering immeasurably and couldn’t care less for the office. More often than not it was true too.

In the past some right minded officers threatened strict action like suspension, dismissal but did not execute the threat creating the impression that it is nothing more than a mere threat and no harm could come to a government employee.

It was time to act or surrender authority to unruly subordinates. What followed was :

Everything was put into writing to tighten the noose around the erring and disobedient employees.

Duty charts/job charts created to ensure work output and enforce accountability.

On the other hand honest endeavours of the hitherto demotivated staff who had shown promise and keenness to work were rewarded with Letters of Appreciation.

Accordingly 13 Letters of Appreciation were issued and forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner, West Garo Hills for favourable grading. Five of the employees got outstanding entries in ACR. Some others still not appreciating the virtues of discipline and hard work have been surgically destroyed in the ACRs.

All this has had the desired result of improved work culture, service orientation, orderliness, punctuality and discipline in the office.

Law and Order

“The law is an ass” - a famous jurist once commented. The plain belt experience, though contextually out of place lends credence to the observation as the people therein think just that.

Dadenggiri, on account of its strategic location, close as it is to two state borders faces humongous challenges on the law and order front.Some years back it was not even safe to travel within the sub-division without security because of threat perception posed by underground elements. The inter state border roads are utilized frequently by insurgents as a safe passage to cool their heels when things heat up in Assam.

The volatile plain belt having a diverse population profile also contributes to daily law and order problems stretching the law  and order machinery. Evictions, ugly brawls, personal rivalries involving violence and breaking of law, petty problems getting out of hand and necessitating magisterial inquiries are a depressingly regular feature. The people of the plain belt have acquired a distinction for being reactive, litigant and ignorant or at best uncaring about law and writ of administration. A huge chunk of time is thus flushed away in just zipping across the sub-division negotiating one crisis situation after another.

The distances to be covered while traversing the sub-division add misery to the woes of civil administration as one magisterial inquiry or law and order assignment consumes a whole day necessitating prolonged absence from the office. The chart below gives an idea of the distances that have to be covered:

The major challenges confronting sub-divisional administration were as follows :

• The unexpected IED blast allegedly carried out by ULFA on 5th October, 2008 and inquiry thereof
• Clash between members of Hallelujah Cult and parishioners of the Catholic and Baptist faith in Deosali village under Tikrikilla PS and the prolonged standoff
• Eviction of illegal immigrants in Pipalbari
• Pedaldoba PHC incident
• Bhaitbari PHC Ambulance stone pelting case
• Crisis management meeting with SDO (Civil) Hathsinghimari, Dhubri, Assam over economic blockade from traders in Assam and issue of eviction
• Crowd management in Charantola Mela where more than a lakh devotees congregate to worship wish-fulfilling Goddess Kali of Babedpara
• Depredation caused by wild elephants in and around Tikrikilla
• Alleged abduction and forceful conversion of a Hindu girl by Muslim youth in Phulbari
• Magisterial inquiry into alleged excesses by police in Rajabala

The law and order problems and the relentless running around the SDO (Civil) had to do have been addressed by posting an EAC in the office against the sanctioned vacant post and comes as a big relief sparing time to monitor the developments in the office and focus on developmental issues.

There has also been a conscious effort to strike personal friendships with officers of the paramilitary forces, IB and the armed forces to keep informal channels of communication open throughout the year and sharing of information. The fact that most of them are from Bihar has helped though.

Improving the PR of the office

If there was an office more in need to reorient itself towards meeting the expectations of the people and improve its standing and credibility amongst citizens –it was ours. The fact that the public did not complain at all said a lot about grievance redressal mechanism or the glaring lack of it in the office.

It was imperative to improve the public relations of the office, to instill a sense of confidence and to build bridges with the community. More importantly there was a need to listen to vocal interest groups, pressure groups, NGOs and Missionaries who are key players in the administrative setup though located outside the administrative sphere.

To improve the PR of the office

• An effort was made to regularly interact with the NGOs and Missionaries of the sub-division
• Assist them with their legitimate demands like issuance of SK Oil or ration under PDS for hostels and voluntary institutions
• Protecting the interests and allowing the minority community to vent out their feelings and “letting off steam” rather than brushing them off
• Participation of NGOs, senior citizens, community elders, Nokmas and Gaon Buras in community related initiatives or defusing crisis / law and order situations
• Formation of Peace Committees and binding them with the responsibility of maintenance of peace, order and tranquility
• Unhindered access to the poor and needy or aggrieved parties usually involving an avoidable but necessary sacrifice of time
• Interaction with Bazaar Committees to keep a watch over price fluctuations
• Frequent visits to Phulbari, Tikrikilla, Rajabala, Hallidayganj, Selsella inter alia to provide easy access to people for complains relating to law and order and PDS
• Complaint box in office where anonymous complaints relating to anything could be dropped confidentially
• Constant touch with SDPO  Dadenggiri and all OCs /ICs of police stations and outposts to gauge the law and order scene and receive feedback from the field level police officers
• Phone numbers of all officers and important staff displayed on notice boards
• Mission statement of the office prominently displayed
• Citizen’s Charter is being prepared and shall be displayed centrally for the public  to understand our commitment, self-imposed timeframes and deliverables

(Samples are being attached with this document)

Unraveling the BSNL Conundrum

There were two problems with BSNL, a third with the government  and a fourth with previous incumbents in this office:

• Why could they not provide network and services to the office consistently?
• Why could they not install battery backup for the BSNL towers in the sub-division so that we could be connected to the outside world during power cuts that are far too many for comfort anyway?
• Was it not shocking that where lakhs of money was being spent on disaster management and disaster preparedness not much was targeted at institutional capacity building and upgrading the apex disaster response and monitoring office at the sub-division to respond to crisis and disasters both natural and man-made?
• What was done earlier by the office bearers to rectify the problem or at least raise a strong note of protest and how could they have functioned when the office suffers total paralysis due to BSNL’s whimsically poor  service?

Limitless patience may be a virtue in most conditions but in Dadenggiri; and in dealing with BSNL it was most definitely a serious flaw and vice.

It was extremely heartening to get the support of seniors in the service notably Chief Secretary Sir, CEO Shri P Naik Sir and Deputy Commissioner Shri FR Kharkongor Sir who came down heavily on BSNL for their inaction and neglect of the communication needs of the sub-division. Finally and perhaps much against their collective will BSNL relented and gave in to our legitimate demands.

Now for the first time in ages Dadenggiri can boast of full network and connectivity even during power cuts and services at other times are also much  better.It is a well connected office amply geared up to meet and respond to emergency situations and sudden challenges.

It gave me a devilish sort of satisfaction to see BSNL officials pulverized in apex meetings chaired by the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary and Chief Electoral Officer and then bending backwards, fighting timelines to set things right. I hope the sting stays with them and reminds them of their duty.

MeSEB Matters

Sore points with MeSEB

• Regular voltage fluctuations
• Poor and erratic power supply sometimes resulting in blackouts for a whole day and beyond
• Low voltage drama in the evenings
• Source of our problems with BSNL as battery backup for BSNL towers also has its limitations; even now when backup is fully installed

Now, after much heartburn and relentless pursuit of what is our rightful due we have been provided a separate 3 O 4 W LT Feeder to the Civil Sub-Divisional Complex for which we have been billed Rs. 59,846 –an amount we will have to pay slowly in due course of time.We have accepted it as a victory for the sub-divisional establishment exhibiting an attitude of gratitude nevertheless.

Project Management Endeavours

It is not everyday that one gets an opportunity to work under a Deputy Commissioner noted and widely renowned for his contributions towards developing tourism and promoting the latest buzz in tourism that is, rural tourism and tribal tourism. Not once but twice in differing capacities as a probationer and then SDO (Civil) I have observed closely what goes into turning dreams into reality. It is difficult not to be influenced by this vision for developing tourist destinations and hotspots.

Purely by accident and on some other occasions at the instance of Deputy Commissioner, West Garo Hills I have stumbled upon three magnificent opportunities and contemplate a fourth giving a fillip to religious tourism.

Sublime Sadolpara

Situated about 20 kilometres from Dadenggiri (Civil) Sub-division Sadolpara is a mystical–magical blend of the modern and the archaic. The place with its artistic huts, animal paintings, sparkling streams, painted pottery, untouched natural beauty is an oasis in the chaotic, confused modern day multitude of the city-breds.The place is seemingly caught in a time warp and affords a fascinating glimpse into true and uncorrupted Garo customs, traditions, folklore, mural painting, pottery and exotic animistic practices.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that village Sadolpara  seems to be the missing link between  ancient, glorious and indigenous Garo culture and modern day ‘influenced’ culture and traditions.

Project Sadolpara could perhaps target the growing market for tribal tourism and attract anthropologists from across the world to come and study the wondrous existence in the midst of corrupting modernity.

Perhaps there could be a replication of the Sadolpara model of living and recreation in Tura to attract tourists, as suggested by Deputy Commissioner, West Garo Hills.

Videography and photography are proposed in coordination with Assistant Curator, Tura Museum and Additional Director, DIPR. Continuous directions would be sought from Deputy Commissioner, Tura.

Wadakokggre Archaeological site

On 26th February, 2009 I accompanied Shri Purno A. Sangma, Chairman , Meghalaya State Planning Board to the famed archaeological site of Wadakokggre (Rajpura) in Bhaitbari. We were accompanied by the Chairman of Tura Municipal Board, Chairman of Garo Hills Autonomous District Council and Assistant Curator of Tura Musuem.

Shri PA Sangma and others spent two and a half hours surveying the archaeological site, interacting with the people and exploring ways and means to develop the place and establish it as a popular tourist and religious destination.

The site is currently maintained by Archaeological Survey of India and is a protected area under the Meghalaya Ancient Monuments Protection Act. The purpose of the visit was to explore possibilities of beautifying the place, constructing public amenities and developing it commercially  not only for the local tourists but others who come from far and wide to witness the lost glory of the Koch /Cachari kings, their stone monoliths and the two temples from which shivs lingas have been excavated.

Shri PA Sangma informed the undersigned that if need be the entire place could be acquired for it to be given an appropriate facelift. The plan for commercial development and beautification of the site will be taken up in consultation with ASI and in a project mode.

DFiD Project

I attended the two day workshop for the programme “Training Need Analysis on DFID Project ::  Capacity Building for Poverty Reduction” in Meghalaya Administrative Training Institute (MATI) in Shillong scheduled on 19th January and 20th January, 09. The institute, it is understood, has been identified as the State Nodal Agency for implementing the GOI/DFiD Project on “CAPACITY BUILDING FOR POVERTY REDUCTION” in the two districts of West Khasi Hills and West Garo Hills. The sectors identified are :

1. Water Supply & Sanitation
2. School Education

West Garo Hills shall be implementing the School Education sector of the project. Before the project actually goes underway a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) was required to be conducted which would result in preparation of training modules for the service providers as a precursor to effective  field implementation of the ambitious project. This is the current status of the project and it has been decided that SDO (Civil) Dadenggiri has been identified as one of the nodal officers for the implementation of the project in West Garo Hills.

Election Branch Set Up

Setting up the Election Branch in Dadenggiri (Civil) Sub-division  was always under consideration but was never aggressively pursued. The branch could only be set up with some proactive support from Deputy Commissioner, West Garo Hills; CEO, Govt. of Meghalaya and some hectic reporting by the undersigned on the needs and requirements for the new branch.

The branch has been set up with active support from Elections Department Shillong and top of the shelf brands have been selected for the electronic items purchased for the branch.

We shall be managing elections including counting and storage of EVMs for three constituencies of Raksamggre, Tikrikilla and Dadenggiri.

Our Election Computer Room is state of the art with air conditioner and VSAT hub distributed over LAN for internet connections.

It is a process of decentralization of powers in the district with more empowerment of the sub-divisional establishments.

The Election Branch in Dadenggiri is geared up to meet all challenges of a grueling election schedule.

Innovations and Miscellaneous matters

• The Sub-Divisional Coordination Committee has been revived and meetings are held quarterly to ensure smooth lines of communication and coordination with line departments at the sub-divisional level.
• The office has evolved a mission statement that has been prominently displayed.
• A Citizen’s Charter listing our commitment and duties is being prepared.
• I am also the Administrator of Tikrikilla College, Tikrikilla and am closely associated with the regular affairs of the college and its day to day administration, construction work etc. A cause of special and urgent attention has been the funds to the tune of Rs. 4.7 crore sanctioned under NLCPR (Ministry of DoNER, New Delhi ) for the construction of new administrative complex, academic block, hostels and boundary wall in the college.
• A Sub-Divisional Security Review Committee is proposed to be formed shortly with representatives of  CrPF, Army, SIB and police officers both at the SDPO level as well as the OCs and ICs manning the thanas and outposts.
• A MDM Review and Monitoring Committee has been constituted at the sub-divisional and block level to streamline the ambitious Mid Day Meal Scheme.
• An official website for the sub-division offering glimpses into the history, culture and PDS related information is planned and proposed.

The Epilogue

All the above initiatives may seem unremarkable and unspectacular. But in Dadenggiri it is spectacular if nothing seems too remarkable and out of the ordinary both in the law and order front and in the spectrum of administration. In Dadenggiri, the regular and the routine,  mundane matters like discipline and order, service and punctuality if proper-qualify as spectacular. And every step towards these targets is like a fresh gush of breeze for the sub-division and everything it stands for. This is what “Winds of Change in Dadenggiri” is all about.

It will be only fitting to state that the winds of change took force in Shillong and gathered momentum in Tura, finally surging like a gale of good fortune for the beleaguered sub-division. The firm support of the following was instrumental in realizing the much touted change:

• Shri Ranjan Chatterjee, IAS, Chief Secretary, Govt of Meghalaya
• Shri P. Naik, IAS, Chief Electoral Officer, Govt of Meghalaya
• Smt RV Suchiang, IAS, Commissioner & Secretary, Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department, Govt of Meghalaya
• Shri F R Kharkongor, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, West Garo Hills, Tura