AN OFFICIAL NEEDS TO BE ACCESSIBLE

 Greater a man is, the more is he accessible. I hold this view. I have learnt it from experience.  Years ago, in early seventies, while I was serving as Additional District Magistrate at Rourkela, both I and my wife paid a visit to the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. I recollect the warmth of reception we received from none else than the legendary Mother Teresa who spent almost two hours of her valuable time showing and explaining to us various activities in the campus and talking to us with great interest as if she knew us for years. There was no barrier of officialdom; no showing off; no inner chamber which was out of bounds for ordinary mortals like me. “Atithi Devo Bhava”, the great Indian tradition which treats the guest as God, was the pervading atmosphere where the noble Mother was the presiding officer. Another experience comes to my mind. About a month before I was to retire from the IAS, I requested the Secretary to the President if I could have the privilege of a courtesy call on the President. He was nice to remember and about a fortnight later, I was informed that a meeting with Rastrapatiji had been fixed.  I called on the President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, in his office and had exclusive time for an hour with the great Indian. The simplicity and the versatility of the person and his eagerness to listen to you, left an indelible mark in the memory.
A leader has a natural urge to reach out to the people. If he is genuine, he not only makes himself available to hear the people and talk to them; he does his best to meet their aspirations. He redresses their grievance too. I remember a case when a group of people called on the then Chief Minister, Biju Patnaik, and conveyed their anxiety over the proposed location of an establishment of a para-military organisation just at the enhance of their village ( not far from Bhubaneswar) which would cause a lot of inconvenience to the villagers, and, particularly, the ladies. Chief Minister immediately asked the concerned officer to visit the spot and furnish a factual report. The report was made available to him and the Chief Minister was convinced of the genuineness of the grievance. Decision to shift the location of the establishment was taken. But what happens if a Chief Minister, for years, prefers not to meet any one in his grievance cell? One finds government functionaries are getting  inspiration from the Chief Minister and becoming increasingly inaccessible or-- to be fair-- selectively accessible. There is a widely held perception that a person getting elected or selected into an office, soon chooses his priorities. These are mostly pursuits meant to benefit him in the short and long run. He looks for the advantages which the office is capable of offering. With such an attitude, the person opts for inaccessibility. I would view this malady as a major contributor to governance deficit.

I would request government officials to be accessible; pleasant and helpful. Such a disposition, not their arrogance or inaccessibility, only enhances their efficiency and usefulness.