Emulating the Maha agri plan

Thus, I logged a decade in public service. This service took me to different places in the state that I never heard of in my adolescent days. Of course, I spent my student days in Sathya Sai college and the hostel at Whitefield in Karnataka. That stay had broadened my understanding of the country with friends coming from various states and a few from Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. So, I was not familiar with all the twenty three (then) existing districts. It was a good practice that all the insiders who got selected in civil service and were allotted to Andhra Pradesh state were posted to Telangana districts and the outsiders who were allotted AP cadre were posted to coastal and Rayalaseema districts.

The stay in the districts gives a comprehensive idea of the state of administrative machinery obtaining at field level. Their strengths and weaknesses. So my stay in Nalgonda for training, Warangal for sub-division experience, Parvatipuram for ITDA management, Guntur as Joint Collector and finally in Mahbubnagar as Collector gave me that all-rounded experience. Of course, it was apparent that working in the different regions was not the same. More physical efforts were required for similar results from place to place. The spoken language was Telugu but the idiom was different. The cultural milieu was different.

A few months in the excise department were exciting, what with the anti-arrack agitation that erupted from Dubagunta village in Nellore district. The government had to get directly involved in sale of arrack to keep the flow of revenues steady. Later, I moved to finance and planning department as Joint Secretary. In 1992-93, the government desired to implement ‘Employment Guarantee scheme’ on the lines of a scheme that Maharashtra state government was implementing. For formulating the guidelines for the emerging scheme, I visited a few places where the watershed programme was being implemented bringing significant results. VS Sampath, the Commissioner of Agriculture, led a team to Maharashtra and Karnataka to see the work of non-governmental organisations. Visits to Adgaon, Ralegaon Siddhi, Pidow and Pani panchayat were eye-openers. The benefits from watershed programme were there to see. Improvement in groundwater table was a huge miracle. We saw artesian wells, too, where water was overflowing from the brim. These visits enabled the committee to formulate for the state a watershed-based employment guarantee programme.

This was an improvement over Maharashtra model. The state government announced the programme incorporating recommendations of Sampath committee.

It occurred to some of us in the batch that the overseas training under ‘Colombo plan’ must be availed of. So I took no fancy for another district. During my district days, I had a chance to go through seminal work of IDS Sussex on rural development. So I hoped for an admission there. Unfortunately, that year there were no admissions under this scheme available. So I chose an M Sc programme at Development and Project Planning Centre at University of Bradford. It was a good ten-month programme for a master’s degree. My long-pending desire for a Master’s in Economics became a reality. As part of that course, I submitted a 10,000 words extended essay on the employment guarantee scheme.

After the course began, there was no respite. It was a serious academic life. Luckily families were allowed to accompany and one had to take rented accommodation in the town. So we hired accommodation belonging to a Gujarati on Horton Grange Road.

Much of our errands were by walking and we all were lost all the extra flab due to that walking to university and for shopping etc. We were three officers in this course and we had a chance to meet more often than we met others. There were students from Korea, Nepal, African continent, Philippines, Pakistan, South Africa. For some of them following teaching in English posed some problems. I started using computer for typing my extended essay, taking lessons from my batch mate Praveen Srivastav from Statistical Service. My serious academic pursuit received a jolt when we got the news of accident to my father in Vizag. The very first call was revealing seriousness and with the help of Indian Embassy I travelled to Vizag.

It was a huge loss and there was nothing that could be done. So many elders, wise men and evolved ones at that descended at my place to give us solace. Pujya Guruji was there telling us so lovingly that he rid my father of the pain of death when death was inevitable. Soothing words of Sri Sri bhashyam are still ringing in my ears. Parvathi Kumar paid his respects to my father as it seems he received lessons on English literature from him. I started understanding what my father accomplished in the town especially going beyond his forte of teaching. How much goodwill we bequeathed and how many concerned hands were extended to wipe our tears. Satisfaction of performing last rites was my consolation though Pujya Guruji said that my father’s soul attained its elevation anyway.

After completion of the course before the results were declared, all three officers with our families set out on a trip to Europe. It was such an exciting road trip for nearly three weeks. We towed into Belgium and then to France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. We chose to stay in camp sites and carried tents in our car boot. Those camp sites were graded and some of them were 5 star too. It was such an economical deal and giving us an excellent exposure to the county side. Children thoroughly enjoyed playing with snow and the long drives in that Ford Escort vehicle. With AA membership acting as a guaranteed service for any vehicle breakdown there were no worries at all. One is used to vehicles plying on left half of the road and had driver sitting on the right hand side. So when I drove out from the ship at Oostend in Belgium, out of sheer habit I drove to the wrong side of the road meant for opposite plying vehicles. For a few minutes I was unmindful of that grave traffic violation. But soon I corrected and then later won admiration of fellow drivers for that mastery on road overtaking the right way but sitting on the odd side!

Memories of leaning tower of Pisa, water canals in Venice, Louvre Museum in Paris, beautiful range of Alps mountains, mighty river the Rhine, long winding road of Napoleon trail, massive Zurich lake, ride on cable car to Interlaken are some memories of that trip. We learnt so much about those countries, their culture, architecture, history and language.

Travelling by road proved to be a good teacher. We could not afford tolls so took common pathways. By October 1994 I was awarded M Sc in National Development and Project Planning. These lessons learnt on project planning, appraisal, implementation and evaluation stood me in good stead in some assignments that I fortuitously got in my career. So to be with the people and serve for their betterment, these training programmes were so educative.