Some of my husband's efforts made in public interest
Thank you for your Do No.DZP.ADMR.CR.15,
91-92 dated 31/3/92 with which you
have sent a very low cost mini bio gas plant designed by you for popularization
in the villages together with the details of a project for making information
on developmental works available to the public through Public Computer
Booths. I am happy to go through
the details sent by you and would like to congratulate you for your initiative
and innovativeness in this regard.
This should be contrasted with the DPAR not even allowing him to launch an innovative system to help public and expose corruption Instead of being encouraged he has been severely punished for his innovative efforts to help the common man.
B. In a
paper presented by my husband Sri.M.N.Vijayakumar, IAS on Open Administration,
transparency at ASCI, Hyderabad, in
February 1993, this is what my husband had written when even most developed
countries were not talking about the Right to Information at that point of time.
This is what he actually implemented when he was Regional Commissioner,
….Most of the ideas given in this article have been put to practice by the author of this article when he was the Administrator of Dharwad Jilla Parshat in Karnataka. Even drivers and peons were trained to operate the menu driven information system to assist the public.
C. In 1994, when he was Deputy Commissioner, Chitradurga, he made anti-corruption a part of the total literacy programme.
D. That my husband Sri.M.N.Vijayakumar, IAS does not stop at reporting corrupt practices is amply made clear from the preface to a handbook to the Citizens prepared by the Public Affairs Centre in March 1999, an extract of which I am giving below. These can also be verified from the proceedings of the Secretaries meeting chaired by the Chief secretary which are available with the Government itself:
The
genesis of this Guide can be traced to the suggestions made by
Mr.M.N.Vijayakumar, IAS, the then Secretary of the Hyderabad-Karnataka
Development Board, to improve the
technical monitoring of public works to ensure both quality and cost
efficiency. This led to a series of
discussions within government during which the need for a Guide listing out
practical methods of quality control to be used by supervising and controlling
officers became apparent.
Unfortunately, a similar repeated request made to the Chief Secretary during the last six months to curb corrupt practices resulted in six transfers in six months and harassment and humiliation.
E. As a part of the Reform process, DPAR (Administrative Reforms) issued a circular in 1999 based on the work done by my husband Sri.M.N.Vijayakumar, IAS in 1987 to improve transparency, and this formed the back bone of computerization in all Government Departments and Municipalities and Public Sector undertakings in the State. It may not be out of place to mention the facts that he developed the first proto of Kannada text to Speech software and demonstrated it in the Computer Society of India in April 1998 and in the secretaries meeting chaired by the Chief secretary . Professor D.K. Subramanian and Emeritus Professor Dr. Rajaraman and other scientist and professors know about the path breaking work done by my husband in the computerization of the Government between April 1998 and October 1999. (What is unfortunate is that even after the lapse of 9 years Government has not bothered about his works (Kannada text to speech software, Kannada to English translation software, Kannada OCR when no other person has done similar work then). Any other person would have sought lot of publicity. In fact, one IIM professor was insisting that my husband’s efforts which were very unique should be shown on TV and he was ready to make arrangements. My husband’s focus was on the technical work (which no administrator does) and not on getting publicity. All these are available in his ACRs .But these facts have been continuously suppressed by the DPAR in the last six months while giving him posting just because my husband shows zero tolerance to corrupt practices of any person.
F. In spite of a very short stay as IGR, my husband Sri.M.N.Vijayakumar, IAS was able to initiate affixing photographs of the parties at the time of registering documents. Its impact on the benami properties will be told during the hearing. This must also have hastened his transfer before launching the system. Regarding the Computerization of Stamp and Registration department the Finance Commission headed by Sri Veerappa Moily had written enough about my husband’s innovative use of computers.
G. My husband Sri.M.N.Vijayakumar, IAS had reported in 2005 about the serious corrupt practices running in to a few hundred crores of rupees. I do not have to elaborate much as the present Chief Information Commissioner has seen my husband’s report himself when he was the Chief Secretary and also warned my husband to be careful as the people against whom my husband complained do not hesitate to go to any extent.
H. My
husband Sri.M.N.Vijayakumar’s innovative ideas of involving the citizens by
giving useful details before and during execution of works through leaflets
which was not allowed to be extended to the entire state, in spite of repeated
requests to the Chief Secretary, shows the determination of the Chief Secretary
to retain and nurture corrupt practices. Even the website was closed after his
transfer, and he got it working again when he was allowed to work as Regional
Commissioner,
I. To
help the poor people to avoid visiting offices again and again to know about the
action taken on their grievances, my husband Sri.M.N.Vijayakumar, IAS developed
a totally innovative system which did not require the person to be physically
present but still could get details about his case and within a specified
timeframe. This was done while he was Secretary in charge of Bangalore Urban
District. (vide
J.
My husband
Sri.M.N.Vijayakumar’s reporting to the Chief Secretary in 2006 about the serious
corrupt practices in various public Sector undertakings running into crores of
rupees and insisting repeatedly (more than ten times in the last six months) the
Chief secretary to give him time to discuss them in the presence of experts
resulted in my husband’s transfer six times in the last six months. The warning
issued by DPAR to my husband can only be interpreted that either my husband
should become corrupt or close his eyes to corruption if at all he has to be
given a “good posting” One officer who wants to head the BDA is going around
telling his subordinates that he has mobilized half the money running into
crores of rupees. Money must have been mobilized in his present posting using
fraudulent means only. (PP). In fact one IAS officer even told him the plans of
the Government to bring my husband to the “main stream”. But my husband refused
to join the “main stream” and even asked that IAS officer not to go in that path
as it destroys the very democracy which they are expected to protect and asked
him in writing to part with the tons of information on corruption which that
officer has kept as perk and help him fight corrupt practices. My husband sent clear signals in writing
to the Chief Secretary and the other IAS officer that he would continue to
fight corruption and join the “mainstream”. His transfer must have become
inevitable. This clearly indicated
that my husband would have received help if only he had become corrupt or turned
a blind eye to corruption. . Of course things became totally different when
my husband came out with an innovative idea of giving information to the public
using the right to information Act. Details are available at http://bngregcommr.freespaces.com/
All the Circulars issued by
my husband Sri.M.N.Vijayakumar, IAS, to curb corruption and expose the corrupt
and protect the honest are also available at the website. This threatened the
corrupt so much that he was transferred out as Regional Commissioner even before
he could launch the System and in spite of his request to allow him to work for
just two days more; he was relieved by asking a very junior officer to assume
charge against Rules by the DPAR.
Comments of the visitors speak more
about its effectiveness in curbing corruption. This is what the Indian Express
(on
K. On the other hand for showing absolute integrity as required by his AIS Rules my husband Sri.M.N.Vijayakumar, IAS has been transferred six times in the last six months, denied leave, sanctioned leave for a period when he worked, has not been paid salary for the last five months till today, sent him on deputation to a closed company not meant for an officer of his grade against guidelines, etc. As my husband’s main purpose is to fight corruption against all odds continuing in service, he will be approaching Competent Authorities to enable him to work with absolute integrity (which he has been doing all through his life)as demanded by his Service Rules. But he wants to wait and see to which level the DPAR is going to stoop to protect the corrupt so that public can know and demand for changes. In fact, my husband had written in Annual Confidential Report that one of his objectives is to introduce systems to prevent corrupt practices which he has been continuously pursuing.