NOVEMBER 02, 2012

By A.K.Pande, Former DG, DRI

‘WE look before and after, and pine for what is not' – this was the reflection of the great Romantic when he saw the ethereal skylark, going ‘higher still and higher', ecstatic in its celebration of the present, not encumbered by its past or future. Nature has made it like that. Humans are different. They have the capacity to look before and after. Both past and future are relevant to them. And as past has a bearing on future, we must not be oblivious of it in the present. As one advances in age, and crosses sixty, one tends to look behind more frequently. The past and people linked with that past unwind like a film in mind's eye. I have for sometime been looking back and reflecting about some members of the Indian Revenue Service, men of integrity and courage, men with a commitment to public service and a consuming desire to excel in a particular area and to build up and improve the system. Theirs' is a past which left something for future, something to ponder and cherish and may be to emulate. And they left their mark. Dust settles on such marks with the passage of time. That is the way of life and we have to accept it. Once in a way someone brushes off the dust from them. I have taken turn this time to brush off the dust settled over the marks left by some such members of the service. Let not an impression be created that we have dearth of such names. And let not the individuals be compared as any contribution - big or small, is valuable in its own way.

Cases of smuggling and evasion of excise duties, preventive and anti-evasion cases as we call them, particularly the former, tend to be high profile, and thus captivate the public imagination and hit the media headlines. They make for fascinating stories from public's point of view. Not all members of the service get a chance to work in preventive formations or have a big stage like Mumbai to operate from though it is a different matter that all who do may not excel or show same grit which Daya Shankar or a few others did. Let us not therefore forget all those who while working in other arms of the department, may not be as conspicuous, and who operating from different stages, big or small, refuse to compromise their integrity or succumb in any way despite temptations or pressures and go about their task with courage and conviction. Theirs too is quintessential public service. They may be involved in other duties which though low profile like quasi judicial proceedings, clearance of cargo and passengers, assessment of duties, drafting of laws, framing of tariff and budget (some brilliant officers were involved in these two aspects) running the tax administration, building infrastructure, revising the procedures with the changing times etc nontheless constitute the core of the Revenue Department. Here too stakes could be very high. Some may have excelled in yet other areas, no less important, concerning the welfare of the members of the service. Each arm of the department, not preventive alone, provides opportunities to prove one's mettle and many in fact do prove it. The manner in which these functions are performed and the way officials conduct themselves'can make a significant difference either way positive or negative both to the exchequer and the system. They can build or harm the system and its values. To sustain a work ethic which has integrity and courage as its integral parts all through the career is per se a remarkable achievement particularly when quite a few who make a good beginning fall prey to temptations and in the process compromise themselves at various stages of their career many a time at the closing stages. While some others though low profile and self effacing have a doggedness of purpose which refuses to die. And this is a reward in itself giving contentment and a sense of pride to be shared with a handful of people who know them best - the family and close friends. It does not matter if no encomiums come their way, or they have to pay a price sometimes for what they believe in.

Some such people served the Department long back and have almost faded from memory. Some others retired not so long back and some are still in service. Going down the memory lane I have tried to resuscitate the memory of some of these people here, mostly retired. These cases are only illustrative and just thumb–nail sketches. No adverse inference is intended and should not therefore be drawn against the rest not figuring here. More names and more details can be easily added. May be at some later stage I talk about some more people who had headed the service or worked in the TRU or DRI or made valuable contribution in drafting of our laws and procedures over the years. Names like Shri Saldanha who had drafted the Tobacco Excise Manual in the forties come to mind instantly. Tobacco was the mainstay of indirect taxes from forties to the end of sixties when excise duty on it was abolished. The manual was a marvel of drafting, making elaborate provisions for cultivation, manufacture, storage transport and sale of tobacco, somewhat akin to the of system of control of opium cultivation which still exists. Another such name is T.R.Rustagi who had spent more than a decade in TRU, and ably handled the indirect tax portion of the Finance Bill year after year, including the era of economic reforms in the nineties. TRU in fact may have more names to showcase, including of some Members who headed it. It would be heartening to see some others make such an attempt. Some names who had shown extraordinary grit in the face of adversity already grace the pages of my book. While selecting these names I am aware that despite trying to be objective some element of subjectivity creeps into such matters. There may not be general agreement about these names or the traits attributed to them. I have tried to be as objective as possible in the matter and to include those names and those traits which in my judgement may not evoke any disagreement. The apprehension of falling a prey to subjectivity and personal bias has prompted me to exclude some of my batch mates from these pages. But I cannot resist just naming two amongst them - Shri P.N.Malhotra and N.Raja whom I admired and looked up to as for their exemplary probity and dedication. I can add may be some more batch mates for other qualities like firmness or decisiveness. But I have to leave them rather reluctantly.

When I entered service in 1966 two names frequently mentioned with reverence and some sort of awe were – B. N. Bannerjee and R. N.Mishra. They were at the helm during fifties and sixties - a golden period, as there was no premium on the integrity of a public servant, and it was taken for granted – a sine qua nun. There was corruption too but it was exceptional - more of aberration and not on the same scale as it is today. This is not to suggest that there should not be premium on integrity. It was not necessary then. But premium is imperative in current milieu when it has become increasingly scarce and graft has reached alarming proportions and has badly corroded the system. These two made their mark by their brilliance and professionalism. And such people set the tone, tenor and standards of the Department. They were vital links in its evolution and its work culture. Their conduct as public servants as colleagues and superiors was impeccable. Their legacy is relevant even today. Both of them had retired a few years before I joined the service. But the lore concerning them lived on till it almost faded when all the old timers who worked with them and passed on the lore by word of mouth, retired one by one.

Shri Bannerjee was Chairman of the then Board of Revenue till then common both for direct and indirect taxes. Sometime perhaps in 1962, this combined Board was replaced by two Boards - one each for direct and indirect taxes respectively and Shri Bannerjee was the first Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs. The Chairman then had the rank of Additional Secretary and the Members that of Joint Secretary! Shri Bannerjee was from Imperial Customs Service – created in British times which could boast of many illustrious names in it during its existence. He was credited with encyclopaedic knowledge going way beyond the revenue matters. He was an able and brilliant administrator and was a public servant in its true sense. Shri Mishra was from Central excise stream. The two streams were combined as one service viz Indian Customs and Central Service later on. He may not have been as encyclopaedic in his knowledgre as Shri Bannerjee was but was unparalleled as far as mastery of Central Excise law and procedure was concerned. The instructions and circulars issued during his time as Member Central Excise concerning procedures and tariff etc had a precision and perspicuity and remained relevant and in use for years to come till the law and system itself underwent change with the passage of time. They bore his imprint. He too was an able administrator who set high standards as a public servant and led by example.

The next is someone not high ranking who had uncanny knack for collection of intelligence and excelled in anti-smuggling and investigative work. He had figured in my book earlier along with Daya Shankar and few others. The mention here again is to drive home the point that let us not miss anyone who happens to be involved in a low key but other wise vital duty. This man was not widely known as he was mostly involved in the collection of intelligence and started with a modest position, having entered the department as an Examiner in customs' a non- gazetted post' in Mumbai.. His example proves that the level at which one works is not a constraint and one can excel in any area. As eighties and nineties were the decades dominated by Dawood Ibrahim' sixties and seventies belonged to the likes of Haji Mastan' Yusuf Patel' Varadaraj M.Mudaliar all of Mumbai' and Bakhia of Daman. In fact Dawood learnt the basics of smuggling trait' as a junior member of Mastan's gang. The service period of this officer straddled both these eras.

His name is B.G. N. Iyengar now in his eighties, and leading a retired life His integrity and courage were beyond doubt And these were blended with an acumen for collection of intelligence' which was exceptional. He worked in the DRI office at Mumbai for more than two decades away from public glare, and not many, including those from Mumbai police knew as much about the Mumbai underworld as he did. There were many occasions when the top smugglers may have wondered who and what had hit them. Daya Shankar's challenge was direct and frontal. He was an ace operator in the field. Iyengar was an strategist who worked away from the field and the public glare. And yet there was a deadly attempt on his life. He was grievously hurt but survived. KS Bhatt who followed him there picked up from where he left and kept alive that work culture of which thoroughness, integrity and courage were the hallmark. And Satya Srinivas who came after them, then a young officer with a few years of service, took it to different level giving it a new dimension. The legacy is kept alive by others not only there but elsewhere too in DRI.

Someone else called S. Sabapathi with somewhat similar qualities blazed a similar trail in south in sixties and seventies. I had met him when he was A.C, DRI, in Chennai ( then Madras) and I was at Nagapattinam in early seventies. He had excellent network of informers and was a bold operator in the preventive field. He was adept in generating pinpointed intelligence. His record in detection of some the biggest cases of smuggling in south was enviable.

The next name will certainly raise many an eyebrow and arouse strong and mixed feelings some supporting and some condemning his men management style and method of work and the drastic action he initiated against some top officials something never done before or since. This latter aspect therefore best be left out. Numerous other initiatives taken by him left a permanent mark on the department. He is J.Dutta, who was Chairman, CBEC in late eighties. He in fact made his presence felt in every post that he held and made a difference. Two of his important initiatives are being briefly recalled here.

The Revenue Department expanded rapidly after Independence. Some residential accommodation for staff had been coming down from British times but it was totally inadequate to meet the needs of ever increasing numbers. The accommodation under the central pool, only available in Delhi and some metropolitan cities, was hardly sufficient to meet the requirements of staff at all levels particularly the junior. This caused tremendous hardships for staff, who had to shell out big chunk of their monthly salary sometimes as much as half of it, for rented accommodation in big cities like Mumbai and that too in far off suburbs involving hours of commuting by train or bus every day. This also made them vulnerable forcing them in some cases to take obligation from people with whom they had to deal officially and it thus bred corruption too. In fact the service members never even thought of having a government accommodation during their service tenure then. It went without saying that they had to go for a cramped private accommodation in far off areas, all through their career. No one imagined that the position will ever change. It was a hopeless situation. I remember how as probationers, my colleagues and I rented a room /shared accommodation in suburbs like Mulund, Chembur and Goregaon and commuted every day to Fort area. There was no training academy or hostel then in Mumbai. But the position did change. It required the foresight and doggedness of Shri Dutta to achieve this. And he did it in a big way and from a place where the need was felt most - Mumbai. Being a totally new initiative it was not easy to get the required sanctions from Delhi, where the process is tortuous and complicated involving several departments. And when a proposal involves expenditure of crores of rupees and had never been conceived before the task is uphill and frustrating too. It requires perseverence and a granite will to pursue it to its conclusion. The sanctions ultimately came. And in due course overwhelming percentage of staff got accommodation there. This was something new at that time. This started a trend. which slowly and steadily covered the entire country with proposals being initiated by several officers who taking a leaf from Shri Dutta had showed admirable drive. Enumerating these names and efforts will make an interesting account. We now have residential accommodation nearly everywhere including remote areas. And if at some places we still don't, constant efforts need to be made to make up for the deficiency. This effort was replicated in acquisition of office accommodation too. The days of rented office accommodation are almost over now. No more a ramshackle Hotel Waldorf in Colaba for a sensitive organization like DRI! In fact Coal India was its tenant and DRI had sublet two floors from them. The zonal unit operated from this building for more than three decades from seventies onwards. We have now many official guest houses too thus all but doing away with our dependence on state/private guest houses.

Today when officers and staff move from one place to another on transfer they are at least saved in majority of cases from the gnawing worry of finding an accommodation. Gone is the financially crippling dependence on private accommodation. And they can live with dignity too.

The office work in customs and central Excise departments and for that matter, almost in all the departments of Govt of India, was earlier manual, involving papers and registers. And in the process reams of official records were generated which were unwieldy and difficult to handle. Use of computer was considered a preserve of only private sector despite the unlimited possibilities it offered. Shri Dutta thought of computerizing the work of both Customs and central excise in early eighties in keeping with the international trend. He showed rare foresight and prescience. He was ahead of his times. The starting point like the accommodation for the staff was Mumbai. India had to match the advanced countries. Ours was perhaps the first major department of Govt. of India to take such initiative. In the hindsight it appears that computerization and use of IT was inevitable and inescapable. But Shri Dutta thought of it ten years earlier. There was resistance, as established system always resists a change. And resistance is considerable if the change is drastic. And here the credit has to be given to the unbending will and single minded pursuit of the goal by this man. He brooked no delays, was impatient sometimes even harsh and relentless in pursuit of his projects, often driving people to exasperation and despair. That was his style of functioning. He could have perhaps done without some of these. His efforts however made matters smooth in the coming years. When computerization started sweeping the work culture of the mammoth Central government machinery later we were nearly settled in it and were refining things. And the process is still on.

Shri Dutta retired in late eighties.

(To be continued tomorrow)