1. Shri Dilip Patel welcomed everyone to the 9th webinar of the Alliance of Change Makers and explained how we have been calling young officers from across the length and breadth of India who have done exemplary work, to share their experiences with others and inspire them. We need to counter the negativity prevailing around us through these examples. The administration does have strength but it is often hidden, and such officers bring out the strength of the administration. We hope that the sharing of such stories will have a multiplier effect across the country.
He briefly introduced today’s Keynote Speaker, Shri Armstrong Pame, who was the first IAS officer of his tribe in Manipur (belonging to the Zeme speaking group of Zeliangrong community) and was able to recognize the aspirations of his people and rise up to them. He welcomed Shri Pame to the webinar and thanked him for sparing time for us from his busy schedule.
2. Shri Sanjay Kothari, too, welcomed Shri Pame to the webinar. He mentioned that in the 14th year of his service, he was told that there is no shortage of money for good work, provided that there is no ulterior motive or biased agenda.A number of young officers are still in the clerical mode and they need to be shown how to exercise their powers by officers like Shri Pame. Shri Prabhat Kumar also mentions in his book that the powers of the civil servant should be exercised for the welfare of the people.
3. Shri Pame thanked everyone for giving him the opportunity to interact with all present in the webinar.He introduced himself that he joined the IAS in 2009 under the Manipur Cadre. He was born and brought up in a small village in Manipur which comes under the list of the 150 least developed districts of India. He studied at St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, and then cleared the UPSC exams. Since then, with God’s Grace, he has been trying to work for the people. He is now looking forward to being deputed to the Central Government and learning from the working atmosphere of the Central Government.
He said that most of the audience in the webinar were much, much more experienced than him as a bureaucrat, so he would not go into the nitty-gritty of the procedural file work etc. that he went through as an officer in trying to undertake his initiatives.He said that he was not too worried about what would happen to him in acting the way that he did, otherwise he would not have been able to execute anything.
As a sub-divisional officer, he toured the area on foot; in 1983, the road construction in the area had stopped. He called a meeting of about 500 local people. He belonged to the same community and spoke the same language. They told him that they had been walking in the area in the absence of a road, and so had Shri Pame when he was growing up, but now that he was an IAS officer, things should change. They said that they wanted him to build a road, and he initially said that this was too big a task for an SDO, especially with Manipur being a resource-crunched State. He spoke to the higher authorities; the Chief Secretary said that he should speak to the PWD commissioner. He realized that he would take almost 3-5 years only to get the project approved by the concerned authorities, whereas he had only one year with him as the SDO.
He had a choice- he could go digging people’s graves and investigate as to why the road had not been built till now and engage in witch-hunting through PILs and RTIs- but he decided against this course of action. He then considered if he should wait for the government to do it in its own time; he decided against this as well.
As a 25-year-old young officer, he had the required adrenaline rush to get things done quickly. He got inspired when one of the locals, a 92-year-old man, said that he would contribute his 200-rupees per month pension for 5 months to him for building the road. Similarly, other people also came up with whatever they could contribute.He did a rough calculation of the cost of constructing the road. He had 4-5 lakhs as his personal savings and was still a bachelor, and the rest of his family was not dependent on him. 1000 of his Facebook friends contributed about 5 lakhs. His mother contributed his father’s pension. He went to the local contractors and requested them to give him the machines required at rates lower than market rates.
His senior officers didn’t approve and he kept getting scolded- but in his heart he was clear that he was not doing this for any selfish purpose. Neither was he a politician doing this for votes, nor was he gaining money personally. While growing up, his family had faced very difficult times (he had 6 other siblings) and it was the local community that had helped him and his family reach where he had reached in his life. He felt it was his duty to pay them back.
With the support of several people and funds collected through several sources, the road was built in 8-9 months. Had he been too careful of the rules and procedures, this would not have been possible. He was not too concerned about what would happen later- he was only sure that his motive was good and there were no strings attached.After he became the DM of the district, he went to the Ministry for the construction of a National Highway. What they had constructed was a kuccha road. 21 villages had to be convinced to give land for construction of the highway without any compensation, as the land acquisition process itself was so lengthy.
The construction of the National Highway is now in full swing.
He convinced the people by making them realize that if the road is not constructed, more and more people would die, as the sick had to be carried on bamboo stretchers by people on foot. Their crops of papayas and oranges used to rot before they reached the market. Due to economic losses, the children would keep losing their best years without proper education. He told them that the road would mean bus stops and buses which could eventually take them to Singapore!
People told him that he was infringing on the rights of the tribals, as they gave their land without compensation. He was being accused of betraying his own tribe. However, he believed that the people themselves would see so many advantages of the National Highway in the next 5 years; in another 10 years, the road would become so important that the need for a 4-lane would arise and the government would acquire land with proper compensation. Right now, since the land comes in the category of forest land, the compensation would have been 2 rupees per square feet, whereas later, the compensation would be Rs 120 per square feet as it would no longer come in the category of forest land. This will change the life of the people forever.
He said that the participants of the webinar were most welcome to travel on the road after 1.5 years, when its construction is expected to be completed.He is considered a very impatient person- one of his seniors had remarked that he wanted to get tomorrow’s work done yesterday.
He was very frustrated with the poor internet available to him in his area even as a civil servant. There was just one BSNL tower set up in 2008 and even that was never completed. BSNL was not responding to his requests to improve the connectivity. He then wrote a letter to Mukesh Ambani, the richest person in the telecom sector, on his official letterhead as the Deputy Commissioner of the District, and put it up on his Facebook Page. Within 2 hours he got a call from Ambani’s office; they sent a team of people the following week and within 3 months’ time, 6 Jio towers were set up. Similarly, Airtel later set up more than 100 towers in his district. The result is that his native village (that got electricity only in 2012) has a better internet network than some of the cities in Manipur.
He said that God has blessed his journey so far. As long as one is doing the right thing to help people without any selfish gain, no one can pull you down. People threatened him that there will be PILs filed against him for using land of the tribals without compensation, but he said that he was confident that he would be able to convince the Judges hearing the case.
People say that bureaucrats should not use social media. However, he doesn’t think so; the bureaucrats are supposed to serve the people- then why work behind the curtain where people will not be able to share their pains and troubles with the bureaucrats? Facebook (FB) has been so helpful in identifying the needs of the people, especially during the pandemic. The time for civil servants to work behind the screen is over. He has not joined the IAS for popularity but for public service, to bring positive changes in the lives of the people he is supposed to serve.
He puts up stories of people who need help on his FB page, and many people volunteer to help. For example, a girl who wanted to pursue nursing studies after school was not able to do so due to adverse financial circumstances in her family. A gentleman from Haryana read about this on his FB page and offered to pay Rs. 3,000 per month as her mess fees. Now the girl has finished her studies, is working and supporting her siblings. A good friend from Maharashtra read about the village school and sponsored 6 children at Rs. 18,000 per month. He also sent Rs. 12 lakhs to set up a computer lab.
Thus, through social media people are able to reach out to him and he is able to deliver service to them. People in a position to help call him up to ask how they can help. This was particularly useful during the pandemic. For example, out of the 150 oxygen concentrators in his district, only about 50 were procured by the government; the rest were all sponsored by corporates. Celkon company from Bangalore, for example, donated oxygen concentrators, are working on increasing solar power in the area, and also want to set up an ICU. Another friend of his in Mysore sponsored one ICU worth Rs. 40 lakhs. The RT-PCR tests were getting delayed as the samples had to be sent to Imphal; Shri Pame was able to collect Rs. 27 lakhs in 24 hours to buy a machine for RT-PCR tests, ahead of the other districts.
Being a civil servant does not mean that one will remain secluded from the people, buried in files. Many of his seniors told him that he was bypassing the State by collecting funds in his own way, but he did what he had to do. He said that he was blessed by God to have good friends and the required support to achieve good results.
4. Shri Dilip Patel said that there was no other word to describe Shri Pame’s efforts except “Wow”; no wonder he was known as the ‘Miracle Man’. Shri Patel opened the floor for questions.
5. Several members greatly appreciated the work done by Shri Pame.
A. Shri Anil Chowdhry said that we need more bureaucrats like him who are not pen-pushers but could cut the red tape with an axe.
B. Shri Kamal Taori said that it would be good if Shri Pame could identify more local players and hidden energies, which would further encourage self-reliance without dependence on grants, rebates or subsidies. He suggested that Shri Pame could start a ‘Natritatvashala’ to inspire local people and institutions like the Panchayats. Marketing the ‘unmarketed’ is important.
C. Prof. Anand P. Gupta asked Shri Pame about the ideas he had in mind for the future, especially with regard to the health and education sector.
– Shri Pame said that he had a number of things in mind, but sometimes gets into a fix as to how he can execute his ideas. Our country is neglecting primary and secondary education and until and unless we reform the teaching community, there is no hope. For instance, headmasters are being given parallel administrative assignments in the school managing committees, which further reduces their interest in teaching. There is a lot of corruption stemming from the political class that limits his capacity as a bureaucrat. He may not be able to change the world or to do much- but he will do whatever he can do. For example, he is focusing on his village school, ensuring that the children get a good diet and good education with minimum fee; in fact, his family cumulatively contributes Rs. 2 lakh per month to help the school.
Where health is concerned, he has a lot of ideas but there are very limited resources available. He is looking forward to coming and working in Delhi and he has given his first priority to work in the Health Ministry.
D. Dr. Reena Ramachandran gave the example of the private sector where they have succession planning so that the good work done by one CEO is not undone by his successor, and asked Shri Pame if he was in a position to build a system where people are able to learn from his methods (perhaps a second line in command in the village itself) so that the positive trend continues even when is posted to Delhi.
Shri Pame said that sadly, when he cannot even decide his own postings, he has no control over who will take his post after him. However, he has tried to ensure that the staff at a lower level that stays in place for a longer period, remains motivated and explains to his successor how things were done. He continues to work closely with the CMOs for example, even though now he has been away from his district for 4 months. He still tries to follow-up with the local staff, and some of them who are in a position to do certain things, are continuing with the good work. So, things are continuing even without him, but maybe not with the same intensity as before.
E. Shri Ambasht, based on his personal experience of the early 90s, said that he had found that there were two parallel systems working in Manipur; the government efforts were limited to a small area, whereas the voluntary sector was all-pervading. Later he found out that these were the insurgents, and the government servants even paid them some amount of their salaries. He asked Shri Pame if this dichotomy still continues and what was the current relationship between the government and the insurgents working at the grassroots level with sincerity and devotion.
-Shri Pame said that he was not in the best position to comment on this matter. Insurgent groups have come down to a great extent due to the improvement in governance, and the government is in regular talks with them. Hopefully, GoI will be able to successfully complete these talks.
F. Shri Kotheri asked Shri Pame how they were maintaining the initial road build now that the work for the National Highway was in progress.Shri Pame replied that about 80kms of the road is coming under the National Highway. The remaining 20kms would also eventually be covered as a subsidiary highway by the NHIDCL. His target is that his district should have this road and then it should be connected with other cities. Presently, they are facing some issues at the Assam side regarding royalty payment, but it should be sorted soon.
6. Shri Sanjay Kothari complimented Shri Pame on his great work, and said that he was a living example of the fact that money is not a constraint for good work. He said that Shri Pame must share his work far and wide among civil servants to inspire them.
7. Shri Prabhat Kumar delivered the closing remarks and stated that all the listeners had been impressed with the disarming compassion of Shri Pame towards the people.
Shri Kumar said that as a member of the jury of the G-Files Governance Awards, he had come to know of Shri Pame around 10 years ago. The jury were very impressed with Shri Pame and he was one of the people who won the award, in the first batch to which these awards were given. Since then, Shri Kumar has been following the journey of Shri Pame on the internet, who has done so much commendable work.
He said that we need many more Armstrongs in our civil services. There were three things in Shri Pame’s address in the webinar that should be heard by all civil servants:
He had nothing to gain personally and was not concerned with what would be the repercussions of his actions on him as long as he was performing them for public good;
The civil servants have been working behind a curtain so far, but the time has now come to remove this curtain and become accessible to the people. Had Shri Pame not done this, he would not have received the help and support of so many people and NGOs;
A civil servant cannot change the world, but he can do whatever he can within his domain.
These are some key lessons to be picked up by the younger civil servants. Shri Kumar said that he wished Shri Pame a successful career, full of many more challenges and even more achievements. He said that once Shri Pame comes to Delhi, he could count on ICCfG as one of his supporters, and that ICCfG would be in touch with him. He thanked him for such an illuminating talk.
