The Hindu Business Line : Civility first

The generous pay increase of the Sixth Pay Commission to legions of government employees saw some services, such as Defence and police, voicing their grievances.

There can be no two views on the overarching need to provide higher perks and pay to Defence and internal security guardians, particularly when risk perceptions from within and without, have heightened in recent years.

Be that as it may, the Sixth Pay Commission not only provided munificent award to four million-plus government employees, ranging from a minimum salary at entry level of Rs 6,600 to a whopping Rs 90,000 per month at the level of Cabinet Secretary, the top rung of the administrative echelon. It has also touched upon services condition and promotion and lateral entry to civil service from private sector to tone up efficiency, besides suggesting productivity-linked increment at various tiers of services. When the Fifth Pay Commission in 1997 plumped for a similar bonanza to the government babus, it also set store by downsizing the government following natural attrition and allied administrative reforms. But these parts remained pigeon-holed, even when the repercussions of implementing the pay award on the finances of the State governments as also the Centre’s fisc in subsequent years left a gaping hole.

But this time around, things are different as the Indian economy has been cruising on a sustained high growth path.

All for the cause

When this issue was broached to a serving senior bureaucrat in one of the key ministries in the Central Government, he took umbrage, defending the hike for top-scale officers. According to him, the type of functions they perform in terms of setting policies and implementing them, keeping national interests at heart, could not be matched in any other area. He said that if the top-notch talent that is available at a relatively cheap cost with the government flees to private arena, it could command fabulous pay. But most of them do not leave government jobs because of their commitment to the cause of serving millions of people in the country in whatever small capacity one could. Having said this, he also lamented that a few black sheep could be seen in the government services and there are obvious cases of dishonest and corrupt officials and their weeding out is what needs to be addressed.

He said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was originally set up in 1943 through an Ordinance by the government of India by which a Special Police Force was constituted and vested with powers for the investigation of certain offences perpetrated in connection with the departments of the Central Government committed anywhere in British India. Subsequently it morphed into performing myriad functions!

Attendance maintenance

The system of not maintaining attendance in government offices above the level of Section Officer up to Secretary is irksome. Naturally, some officers do not turn up days on end and this has a demonstrative effect down the line. If one tries to get the top officer over phone, invariably the stock reply is “Saab meeting me hai” (the officer is in a meeting). Whenever one turns to the sub-staff of senior officials, they do not show even a modicum of civility. For such people, instead of productivity-linked increment, there could be a proportionate non-productivity-linked punishment. It is time government servants, euphemistically called ‘civil servants’ are made to show some civility to visitors and the public, leave aside any distinct improvement in the delivery of services they are supposed to provide us.

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