Present State of Bureaucracy
The bureaucracy has over the years, with a variety of push and kicks, disgraced at times, become now the hardest nut to crack. No effort can restore the esprit de corps, the urge to help and guide, to work together for a common cause. It is not possible to restore its pristine character. Neither the competence nor the global challenges will allow time to achieve it. Therefore, old problems must be solved with new remedies, techniques you may call it, by even distribution of responsibilities, sharing of knowledge, revising of achievement standards et cetera et cetera.
How to deal with anonymous complaints, serve the information seeker, install a grievance redressal system with whistleblowers on the lookout – A graded solution.
1. Constitutional Amendment
The Constitution provides (Art.4) that everyone has a right to know the law, the procedure, and the power under which he is likely to be dealt with for any of his concerns. Art. 199 requires that anyone seeking the extraordinary constitutional remedies in Superior Courts must show that he has availed of the alternate remedy and holds a departmental order dealing with the matter. This will certainly be informative and enlightening to all others and assist the court in understanding the problem and dealing with it. This will in most cases obviate the practice of calling for reports from the department, asking the departmental officers to attend the court and face a tirade in uncharted waters, made more difficult to understand and explore.
Elsewhere in the memoirs, I have pointed that while the contest over Bill of Rights was taking place strong arguments were advanced to prove that the right of everyone to make a petition was more fundamental than the fundamental rights themselves.
Amendment of the Constitution is not easy to come about.
2. A law on Administrative Procedure.
The effort should be to make every Department, every employee of it, accountable to self. Every employee should have a duty list, a responsibility list, and a self-evaluation duty to discharge every quarter. Everyone should act as whistleblower remaining always within the jurisdiction and reporting only on nonperformance or improper performance of statutory duties to his immediate superior. Every officer of Grade 16 and above, without any exception, should be required to read each month at least one book of his choice on professional matters, make a gist of it not exceeding six hundred words and share it with at least two colleagues of an equal or superior grade in the department or outside it. Such a law should provide all the remedies to the complainant, of providing information, redressing grievances reporting on matters of importance to the civil society.
3. Administrative instructions and practice of a single Officer: I had one officer whom I considered ideal executive Officer. He was my colleague in service and distant predecessor as Colonization officer Haveli project Multan. I met him only once. His name was Syed Qasim Rizvi. He died young. He was full of energy for social and cultural activity. He had established the office on an even keel. Everyone knew that he remained out on tour first three days of the week to make up the requirement of eleven nights out of headquarter. He had devised a form, less than one-third top containing required particulars of the complainant, barest minimum. No affidavit, no ID no attestation of anyone required. All requirements indicated on photostat prepared in the office. The next one-third portion, clearly marked and separated, reserved for the writing of complaint or grievance. The third portion was for the recording of the officer’s order on it. All very simple, fair, quick. I continued that practice as long as I held that office.
For doing the court work of Rehabilitation and colony matters he had devised another form with factual data required headings printed, the data to be entered correctly and completely by the office and to be checked by the Reader of the Court. Believe me; it took minutes to decide the case, usually to the satisfaction of both the litigants.
When I moved over to Bahawalpur as Deputy Commissioner, there also I had to do Colony work and Rehabilitation cases. I continued the practice. Additional Commissioner was my appellate authority. Coming to know that there is a statement which facilitates the decision of the case he started asking for it from my office. It was here that I formed the habit of meticulously ensuring the correctness and completeness of the facts and reducing the hearing time of Rehabilitation cases. I met a very serious setback and reversal in Peshawar. The Commissioner denied me for three months occupation of age-old designated Sessions House. The High court called my explanation for giving correct figures of old pending cases, for disposing of more than hundred rehabilitation cases when required to do only twenty. The senior Bar members before arguing the cases started informing me thirty times a day “Sir I understand your explanation has been called by the High Court.” My colleagues of service, four of them, showing no signs, uttering no words of sympathy on the high handed act of their Commissioner. It was then that I gave final shape to my survival kit whatever its worth. It is as follows
- Facts, correct and complete prove, opinions without such facts confuse
- Want of Legitimacy (acts without Jurisdiction) destroy the system and the wrongdoer himself
- Do not risk your life or career at the foolish and unauthorized act of others, howsoever high and powerful
- In the matter of Faith never consider yourself to be the wiser.
- The Civil Society needs men of values not men of merit.
Anonymous applications and preemptive action
The best guidance that I ever got from the High Court was as Senior Civil Judge Montgomery, now Sahiwal, in 1959. It read the Chief justice and the judges direct that even anonymous applications if it mentions a verifiable fact, should be looked into and thoroughly examined. This is called the exercise of an Inquisitorial power of the executive, so very necessary, least exercised by the executive. With the written prescription of duties and responsibilities, there should be more occasions to avail of this power.
Experiences of a Lifetime 