Carving out new districts in a jiffy

After a lapse of more than three decades, these were some of my memories of our stay in Mahabubnagar that I have preserved in my being. I completed two years in the district, gaining a plethora of experiences. On exactly that day that I logged second year there was a review in Mayuri nursery on Jadcherla Road. After the review when we were walking down for lunch, I reached up to our senior minister D K Samarasimha Reddy and expressed my thanks to him for enabling me to work in this district so smoothly for two years and submitted to him that it was time that I was transferred from Mahabubnagar. He was completely taken aback. He immediately asked me if anyone had misbehaved with me. He persuaded me to continue since the going was good. I requested him to get me relieved when things were under control.

How can I describe the grace and dignity that Samarasimha Reddy brought to that post? It was matchless. He was punctual to the core and never allowed any unreasonable discussion in the meetings nor allowed any criticism of any officer in their absence. He won the admiration of all the district officers. Seldom do we come across such ministers with robust common sense and perfect legal understanding. It is futile to hope to see such men in today’s world. In a few days, I moved to Hyderabad, bidding goodbye to my foster home of Mahabubnagar.

This district gifted me with so many good memories and experiences. My lovely daughter Aparna was born there. My son Aditya started his schooling here. So, Mahabubnagar automatically became a part of our precious family memories becoming our foster native place. No doubt, the size of the district tired me of incessant road travel. The budget for Collector’s transportation requirement was never adequate. My personal assistants, Dakshinamurty and Chandramouli, would always see for opportunities like elections, natural calamities etc., to split the bulging POL expenditure.

The recent years saw winds of change blowing across the Telugu-speaking states especially. The regional parties that gained popular mandate especially after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh brought out everlasting changes at the level of district administration. Executive orders were issued in both the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to reorganise the districts and increase their number. Telangana districts grew from ten to thirty three. Mahabubnagar district gave way to 5 new districts. Thirteen districts in Andhra Pradesh gave way to twenty six. The haste and ease with which these new districts were formed is baffling. In the past when a district was being added, a senior IAS officer would be posted to the parent district and he/she would delineate the boundaries and records of emerging district so carefully. After the formal launch of new district, that officer who did the formative work would become the first Collector.

Since some of the existing districts were unwieldy and large, they were broken up, it seems. They were other reasons like increased urbanisation and increasing population density. Remote tribal areas were another reason for formation of new districts. Making a parliamentary constituency as a district was adopted as a principle by the AP government. It was noticed that when the state government announced their intent to form new districts, there were a deluge of proposals. Therefore, in the process of appeasement, new districts were carved out which were as big as blocks or taluka of earlier times. So in one shot, the state government upgraded the post of Tahsildar to that of a District Collector! The commensurate staff so essential in other departments were not created. Newly posted Collectors were functioning from a variety of buildings found surplus in the new districts. That place could be an abandoned rice mill even. See this casual approach. As regards official residence of these officers, the less said the better it is.

It took scores of years to strengthen the institution of Collector. Practises and procedures in implementation of central and state laws evolved over a period of time. We recognise that administration was also influenced by conventions and case law. Record room therefore became the store house to practising administrators to learn from disposed files. Experienced support staff also played a crucial role in this business of delivering justice in revenue administration. From the discussions with people in the field all these cardinal principles have it seems been sacrificed at the altar of political expediency.

Collectors have been dwarfed in a miniature form and their role in grievance redressal took a beating due to their visible incapacities as stated above. It is an enigma that at a time when communications have tremendously improved and wide spread of optic fibre and access to public has improved, this idea of new districts was undertaken. The public could in fact upload their grievance even without going to office. In that scenario where was the need for this big dose of recurring administrative expenditure?

It is common place knowledge that it is so difficult for any re-look at these decisions by any one. The increase in administrative expenditure and increase in rent- seeking activities by new agents of power are additional reasons to worry. One wonders what were the gains for state with more districts?

There is no special or additional assistance from GOI to state for this initiative. Of course, in a period of time the real estate prices in new districts may swell and all the agents of power that be can pay back to that party for their adventurous creation of new districts. We can imagine the inconvenience caused to the citizens with this bravado.

Time has come for packing bags and go to state head quarters. On the penultimate day indulgence in a game of badminton in newly created indoor facility at officers club sent me with a limp holding my back. I was reminded of the L3 L4 back-ache at Parvatipuram and here I was moving to Excise department in Hyderabad with awful discomfiture.

Since I did not want to send wrong signal I joined at the new place of posting and reported to Sri Daljeet Arora the Chief Secretary. Submitted leave letter after informing him that I complied with orders of government. As I was taking bed rest all the sweet memories of Mahabubnagar were criss- crossing in my mind.

Two years in Mahbubnagar was so exciting. The team was completely involved in a host of initiatives. Services of Narsaiah (JC), Nageshwar Rao ( DRDA), Prasada Rao (SC Society), Azad (housing), J.Chalapathi (BC welfare), Subramaniam (social welfare), Sandhikar (agriculture), Malla Reddy (RDO) Hussain (PR engineering), Hanumandlu (DEO) Sivaramkrishnaiah (veterinary) were all those active agents of change to recall here in various departments. I felt quite tired after the sweet labour of two years. Someday all of us have to hang our boots and call it a day. No surprise at all. Goodbye to Mahabubnagar.