Respected Shri Shivraj Ji Chouhan,
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You have been one of the most illustrious Chief Ministers (CM), Madhya Pradesh has ever seen since independence. The people of MP gave you a clear mandate for a second term which was a clear indication of their confidence in your ability to plan and execute the various promises you had made to the people of the State. It is also well known, that besides great ideas of development wthin the state, you have some of the most dynamic and enterprising ministers in your cabinet, who are capable of doing wonders on the ground. I feel you are no less than the two other Chief Ministers viz Mr Narendra Modi and Shri Nitish Kumar who are said to have done wonders in their states and I personally feel that you have the will power and ingenuity to even surpass them.
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It is felt however, that in spite of all the planning you have done to improve the state of affairs, in a number of fields on the ground, and also the most impressive investors meets you have had, in which a number of MOUs have also been signed, the net result on the ground is not being seen, at the pace which the population of the state expects. This shows that the bureaucracy and their staff, as well as most of the senior and junior officers and their subordinates in all the departments, are more interested in stalling the progress which you are expecting to achieve on the ground, for unknown reasons, or do not have the will and determination to execute your cabinet’s plans and programmes on the ground in a speedy and time bound manner, or are incompetent to plan and execute the programmes, in a systematic manner or are more interested in self aggrandisement, as has become a practice in almost all the states, as well as the centre, which obviously has taken the cake in this respect.
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What results, Mr Anna Hazare’s “fast unto death” even after reconstituting the Lok Pal Bill would bring and when, is too farfetched, and it may be better to wait for the end result. You and I know how things move in this country. The fact remains that our parliament has not been able to pass the bill in any worthwhile form to be effective ever since it was mooted in 1971. Let us see, if it is actually presented and passed in Monsoon session of the parliament, as now promised. I am sure state of MP does not work at the same snail’s speed as the centre does. There must also be many likes of Arvind and Tinoo Joshi within the state, who are awaiting in the wings, for the axe to fall on them, one of these days. You certainly cannot allow corruption to breed anywhere within the state of MP, and have to be ruthless with any ministers, bureaucrats and officials involved in corrupt practices, whosoever or where ever they may be.
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As for support to the state from the UPA Government at the centre, you are a bit unlucky, but have to press on and not give up till the state’s legitimate dues are allotted/given. It is a pity, that in spite of Mr Kamal Nath a MP from MP, could not show the degree of loyalty to his mother state, for improving the roads network, like all the Railway ministers, past and present have been doing for their respective states. Unfortunately, he has since been removed from the responsibility, before he could do anything for MP. As for other fields, I presume we are still way behind in the development of infrastructure and production of power, through conventional and unconventional means, which has to be stepped up. The law and order situation in the state is grim and has been deteriorating continuously. The criminals are openly defying the ineffectiveness of the MPs police force. You therefore, have to step up the tempo in the matter, to enforce the rule of law, if required, by drastically increasing the force and their equipment manifolds. You must follow suggested measures for all the other plans and programmes as well, to implement programmes and fulfil your promises to the state.
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I am aware that interests of all the sections of society are very close to your heart. I am hopeful that the state government would give due consideration to the welfare of defence veterans, who do not expect much from the nation, except a dignified peaceful and respectful life during post retirement period. Unfortunately the UPA government, have closed their eyes to their struggle to undo the injustices heaped upon them since independence. The centre also seems to be totally immune to the force of their conviction, their perilous service and sacrifices made towards the nation, during and even after retirement.
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I was, the other day, delighted to read a news paper report, in which the MP High Court has ruled, recovery of loss caused to the government in the NVDA officers and their contractors dispute case, from the five officers responsible and found guilty of dereliction of duty. Sir, if you carry out a review of the various projects, being executed within the state at various places, you would find that nearly all the projects would have got delayed or are getting delayed due to the lack of interest, dedication, determination and proper co-ordination combined with severe dereliction of duty on the part of bureaucrats and various officers, from top to bottom of the hierarchy of nearly all departments.
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Sir, I would like to ask you, whether as a Chief Minister of state, who has vowed to uphold the constitution, is responsible to the voters and the population of the state, for electing and projecting him as the CM, accept such a state of affairs amongst the officers, whom he has appointed specifically and paying heavily, for implementation of his plans and programmes. You have very little time before you can show the results of your performance to the population of the State for re-electing you, for the record third consecutive term. The time to act has come and you cannot take things easy. Please give an ultimatum and a time framed programme not only to your ministers but also to all your bureaucrats and officers to act now. They must ensure that they all tighten up their belts now, and do proper planning, co-ordination and time bound execution of all the programmes. They must ensure that all the impending problems causing delays must be solved by working round the clock, if required. It can also be presumed that funds for their execution have been adequately provided for.
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Sir, I have another suggestion, that you introduce a new Ministry for Monitoring, which would overlook the execution/implementation as well as obtaining periodic progress reports of all the plans and programmes under all the ministries/departments. This would enable you to take periodic and timely action to step up the progress by pressurising the concerned ministers who would then react to give sleepless nights to his non performing officers. It is hoped that your own conviction and strong moral courage, would enable you to fairly and judiciously deal with the defaulting/non performing ministers at your own level. Your practice of holding weekly cabinet meetings is praiseworthy, and you must ensure such a practice for the Ministry for Monitoring.
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Please do not under any circumstances, resort to over dependence on the bureaucrats or IPS officers, to administer this ministry, since they would never let anything progress the way you want and they would be more interested in shielding their own officers/colleagues responsible for non performance. The Indian bureaucracy, you must be aware is considered highly corrupt, self serving and rated amongst the worst in the world. Even the Indian population is convinced that, it has the notorious reputation of misleading and hood-winking their bosses and even judiciary, to prevent proper implementation of various welfare programmes, unless they benefit them personally. They enjoy total power and ministerial support without any accountability and rarely get punished for their misdeeds and flaws. You may appoint any illustrious people amongst the engineers, economists, chartered accountants, defence veterans, judges, intellectuals, journalists, lawyers, luminaries from the corporate world or various specialists.
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Statutory provisions for recovery of losses caused to the government, due to any type of dereliction or non performance of their duties must exist, and no defaulters should be allowed to go unpunished or scot free under any circumstances. The state’s legal department and the judiciary would also have to play their part in the correct perspective to uphold and properly implement this provision of recovery. We could presume that there would be no taint amongst the judiciary or the other officials of the Ministry for Monitoring.
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Sir, I have high hopes on you and a lot of confidence in your noble thinking and meticulous planning. So please, make the best use of the available time, before it is too late and people start losing faith in your abilities. If with your renewed vigour and efforts in the desired direction, you are able to transform this state, to become amongst the best in India, you would be remembered and worshipped till posterity. As stated above a few other, Non Congress state governments are performing very well, so why should Madhya Pradesh be an exception?
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With best wishes of the entire population of Madhya Pradesh.
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With Kindest regards
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Yours truly,
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Col LK Anand Retd
A humble citizen of MP.
Published in Free Press Indore Edition on May 16, 2011
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