Bullying scribe and defiant bureaucrat
Scribes bullying bureaucrats to have personal things done are not a new phenomenon in around 15-year-old career of Uttarakhand as a State. Thus, there is no element of surprise in a senior journalist, who is now running a leading media group in Uttarakhand, using the same tactic with a bureaucrat to have Tatkal passport arranged for him. But what is surprising is the fact that the bureaucrat concerned has refused to fall in line. Enraged by the bureaucrat refusing point-blank to be coerced into subservience, he warned him of dire consequences, alluding to the might that pen wields. But the bureaucrat proved a hard nut to crack. As per the norms, if an IAS /IPS officer recommends anyone for Tatkal passport the passport office proceeds to issue the same to the applicant within 72 hours without going through the normal course of checking the micro details of the person concerned. The responsibility rests with the particular IAS/IPS. Sticking to his guns, the Government official says he would not go that length to please the scribe as he does not know him personally. The question is-should a scribe stoop so low as to pressure Government officials for a trifle like Tatkal passport while flaunting the exalted power the Fourth Estate enjoys in the general scheme of thingsIJ
Babus — the punching bags
Nudging the bureaucrats to clear files promptly, Chief Minister Harish Rawat has made it clear that his Government would no longer brook Governmental files loitering around the serpentine labyrinth of red-tapism. He told the Babus in course of a brain-storming session with them that it was his duty to send files to them after putting in his notes and, thereafter, it was the duty of the bureaucrats to act on them. He also asked them to immediately return to him those files tagged with the trouble of litigation. Given their long-ingrained habit of sitting on files for considerable time, the Babus are now engaged in interpreting the CM’s ‘do it now’ dictum in their own ways. Some explain things away in a typically Babu way, saying that it is a part of a well-calculated strategy of the astute CM. “This exemplifies what is known as pass — the- buck game. In case his Government faces ire from the common people for sluggish development he would conveniently tuck the blame onto the doorsteps of the ‘laggard’ Babudom. However, the strategy seems to have been spent up with the politicians using it over-zealously for a long time. It is unlikely to cut ice any more with those who count during democratic engagements,” said a sagacious Babu.
Real estate myopia
Realtors minting crores at the expense of the hapless people bent on having sweet homes of their own in the capital city Dehradun has again come into sharp focus. As things happen in such cases, the enforcement agency has chosen to look the other way, helping the unscrupulous real estate giants to loot the people with impunity. A private builder, whose enterprise has seen enormous publicity glitz across the city claims to have allotted houses through lottery. Those willing to have flats are to buy application forms for Rs570 each. Besides, they would have to deposit demand draft of Rs1.25 lakh for 2-bed room apartment and Rs1.5 lakh for 2-bedroom deluxe apartment. They claim that they are constructing 3000 units for 2 BHK including 15 per cent for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). It is also said that those who miss the lottery would be refunded the money they deposit excluding Rs570 they paid for forms. The sum the realtors would net in, supposing around 20,000 people apply, would be astronomical. It means, with 3,000 being allotted through lottery, the remaining 17,000 would lose Rs570 each. It would amount to Rs96.90 lakh for the realtors on the count of purchased forms alone. Can a private real estate company go for duping the people this audacious wayIJ Cannot they be made to sell forms for the particular units they claim they would sellIJ Interestingly MDDA, which is accountable for the real estate business, have their eyes conveniently closed. As things are happening away from their doorstep they are choosing to be myopic. Now, the question is — is it because they have some share in the huge pieIJ