THREAD OF HONESTY & INTEGRITY...

"Recently, the 67th Batch of IRS Officer Trainees completed their probation and got felicitated in New Delhi by the Hon’ble FM. He exhorted them to maintain absolute standards of ethics and 100 percent integrity during their long careers.

He emphasized on the Gandhian principle that even in moments of struggle, they should be in a position to maintain the position of ethics and morality on their side. He appealed to the young IRS officers to retain their idealism throughout their careers. For this, Jaitley said they needed to have the basic cardinal principle of striving for excellence."

    It is a regular feature that whenever a batch of probationers complete their training, they are addressed & felicitated by the Hon’ble FM, but unfortunately, the pledges taken by the probationers after their training and the various teachings, sermons, appeals, etc. or during the felicitation function loose their meaning as soon as they get their field postings.

   In earlier days, i.e. upto the 1980’s, on completion of their training, they were posted as Senior Supdts. and used to work & learn mostly under a promotee AC. The atmosphere then was so cordial, homely and the sense of belongingness was there. The integrity, dignity, humility & compassion, which was to be their hallmark virtues, have now been lost in the competition of self enrichment, which is at the cost of their self-respect and position.

   Many of the officer trainees are highly educated, either professionally qualified or are post graduates in their respective fields, and may have spent lakhs of rupees to acquire their qualifications. Will they consider their qualifications as a waste or will they make it useful to the organizations in which they serve or will they fall prey to the temptations of postings in the Department ?

   There have been many illustrious officers like S/Shri Gopalnathan, Dayashankar, Arun Sahu, Smt. Shantisundaram, Shri K K Sharma, & many more, who use public transport while in service and never mis-used their positions for themselves, their relatives or friends.

     In Mumbai, Shri Dayashankar is considered an icon. While returning to Australia, after his treatment in India, a newly joined direct recruit AC, posted at Mumbai Airport, pestered him for tips on booking great cases. Shri Dayashankar was avoiding to answer the question as he was not keeping well, but on being pressed for an answer told the officer gently “learn to live within your salary, then you don’t need to run after anybody for postings”

     Officers like S/Shri. K K Sharma, Sanjeev Bihari, known for their concern for their subordinates and during a time of crisis, also their family members, without any fanfare, continued to keep in touch with them. Sadly, very few officers are like them in the later batches.

    Nowadays, for the direct recruits, feelings, emotions, ethics, etiquettes are filmy dialogues and they behave in a very rude, mannerless way, they do not show any consideration/respect/regards for a persons age/gender, while dealing with their sub-ordinates. They think that all the subordinates are there only to cater to their needs, whims & fancies. Whenever, any task is to be accomplished, whether it is statistical, technical or even legal, all the subordinates are put to the task to ensure that it is done. Thereafter if any laurels are received for a task well done, they jump forward to take the credit and if brickbats are received for a shoddy job then it is the sub-ordinates who have to take the blame. They know that their tenures are fixed and their crony system will ensure that they are insulated & will not be blamed/fixed for any shortcomings on their part. They are only here to enjoy the fragrance of the Department and it is not their job to maintain/clean the system.

Areas of mis-use :-

1)   Maximum use of OE funds only for their requirements/perks/cabins,

2)  Maximum use of Medical funds for their use on priority basis,

       3) Priority use of LTC/HTC funds for their use,

4)  Misuse of funds under the IT head for purchase of white elephants like an Apple desktop which is not compatible with the commonly used windows hardware/software.

5)  Misusing of Govt. vehicles by putting red-light beacons (which is banned), using them for private use, not only by them but also by their family, relatives & friends and even pets,

6)  During transfer posting, maximum visits by air to New Delhi in the name of official work,

7)  Misuse of SS Funds for personal use, which is a criminal act,

8)  Using the force of their posts to become members of elite clubs, etc.

    After probation and completion of their training, they should join their new postings only on surrender of their hostel accommodations. Similarly, after transfer from a particular place, they should not linger on in official/private guest-houses for months together on one pretext or the other.  They become indebted to a company/entity, after availing the private guesthouses or any other facility from them. Due to this even the lower level officers are unable to take any action against the said company/entity, which, in the long run, costs a huge loss to the Department.

In Service Tax, surveys are conducted, without providing any logistic support in the form of vehicles or TA/DA. Ultimately, this encourages wrong doing on the part of the officers at all levels.

Lower level officers are forced to travel for miles/days for attending MCM, or for getting the SCNs approved by their senior officers, or for briefing the Panel counsels & attending court hearings, without being provided any facility in terms of vehicles, expenses and other logistical support. Will any of the Grp-A officer dare to accomplish any of the above tasks without burdening the Department as their lower officers are forced to do ?

Misuse of CCS Rules – To fulfil their ego, many of the direct recruits start using the CCS Rules to terrorise the lower staff.

     When they are holding additional charge, they do work in a cosmetic manner but expect lower officers, also holding additional charge, to do full justice to the additional work.

    Expectations of the direct recruits have reached sky-high levels and needs to be controlled by their supervising officers for the benefit of the Department in the long run.

    There was a time when there were only a handful of corrupt officers in the Department, but now there are only a handful of honest officers remaining  !!

   The image of a revenue officer abroad vis-à-vis to the status & image of a revenue officer in India are in opposite directions. This needs introspection, not only in their status & behavior, but also in dignity & belongingness/dedication to serve the organization, to enrich the exchequer, not themselves.

   Finally, the words which they have heard from the Hon’ble FM, may not linger in their ears, the group photograph may gather dust in their cupboard, but their kids and parents have an eye on them that their son/daughter or dad/mum is not lesser than a superman or a filmy hero in the real life. It is for them to stand tall as an example for their wards to emulate and as a gift to their parents who have brought them up…

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