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The Rediff Interview/T S Chandrashekhar

'If bureaucrats are determined and strong, they can definitely change things'

T S Chandrashekhar, municipal commissioner of Thane, is in the eye of a storm. When the municipal councillors passed a no-confidence motion against him, the people of the city took to the roads against this decision. Autorickshaws went off the roads voluntarily, and a crowd of around 10,000 people marched to the corporation building to show solidarity with the popular civic official. Heeding the upsurge of public sentiment in the bureaucrat's favour, a scene reminiscent of Hindi films, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray ordered his party's mayor of the city, Premsingh Rajput, to withdraw the resolution.

The reason for this incredible turn of events is not far to seek. According to the people of Thane, Chandrashekhar has changed the face of the township in the 18 months since he took over this job, and has not bucked under the political pressure brought to bear on any duty-minded civic official.

In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf, the municipal commissioner acknowledged the people's power that made a fairytale ending possible to his brief tenure.

How do you feel about the tremendous support extended to you by the people of Thane after you were removed as municipal commissioner?

Of course, I feel happy about it. I think the people are aware of my good work. In many places bureaucrats do good work and still they are transferred. But it never happens that people come out in the open and air their views against the transfer decision. So, I feel good about it.

Also, I must add that the people of Thane have shown that they need more development work and that is why they supported me.

But, surely, you exceeded your brief when you said that the next corporation meeting of Thane will have to be held in jail as there are nearly 40 councillors who are owners of illegal structures, a statement which got you in trouble with the powers-that-be?

I never made this statement. In fact, I was misquoted, and things were blown out of proportion. Already there is a lot of confusion and now, I would not like to add to the problems by giving more quotes to you on this.

Since you deny this allegation, why then are the corporators against you?

It is better to ask them.

But isn't it true that you demolished many illegal bungalows and buildings owned by corporators from different political parties, which was the reason they brought forward the no-confidence motion against you?

Maybe that is one of the reasons.

Is it true that among the illegal bungalows you had demolished in Yeoor, was Uddhav Thackeray's bungalow?

No, this is not true. Uddhav does not have any bungalow at Yeoor as is being mentioned by some newspapers.

Okay, so why do you think the people put up such a show of support for you?

Our work is visible and nothing is hidden. And, I have involved the people of Thane in every project. Last year, we demolished 10,000 structures and cleared hundreds of encroachments. This could not have been possible unless the people of Thane were with me. Of course, while demolishing all these structures, we have kept the human factor in mind and given all of them an alternative site for rehabilitation. I must thank the people of Thane for this move.

What was the situation like here before you were posted 18 months ago?

I will not say it was bad and that I have improved it a lot. I have played my role and I don't want to compare it to anybody else's.

You still have one and a half years left of your tenure. What are your pending projects in this time?

Development is a continuous process. Last year we had implemented many projects and this year too there are many other projects in the pipeline. And the people of Thane are expecting these projects to come through. We are going to construct gutters, footpaths, public lavatories, streetlights, signal systems. It is a comprehensive project. In Phase I we laid 55 km of road. So there are a lot of things to do.

You met Bal Thackeray to solve the dispute with councillors. What happened at the meeting? And what exactly is his locus standi in the matter, since the dispute was between you and the corporators?

You see, through the entire Phase I work, Thackeray supported me fully. Of course, I must mention that most of the citizens of Thane are his supporters and they in turn supported me. So, he carries a lot of weight in Thane. In fact, he has always kept in touch with day-to-day developments here. So when this issue cropped up, he called both parties for a meeting, we discussed the matter and then he extended his support for me.

Your critics say that all you have done so far is only widening of roads, and have provided no other basic civic amenities like water supply, sanitation etc. How far is this allegation true?

One thing I would like to make very clear is that one cannot change everything overnight. And civic amenities are of such a nature that you cannot complete all the work in 18 months. Whatever we have done is only one per cent, and 99 per cent remains to be done. So we have never claimed that we have done all the work.

But in the given time and given the limited resources and staff, whatever best we could do, we have provided to the people. No city on this earth can boast that it has provided all the civic amenities. Of course, road development and providing streetlights was one of the most important development projects. Now we have undertaken a project for water supply which costs nearly Rs 1.25 billion. If it is completed then Thane's water problem will vanish in the next 20 years.

As far as sanitation is concerned, we have set up a garbage conversion plan. That is also complete. So, I don't think there is need to complain on that score. One more project we have taken up is lake beautification. We have developed 35 lakes. You know, Thane is a lake city but nobody knows about it and all these lakes have almost vanished. That scheme we are implementing now.

On the income side, we are standing on our own feet. We are self-reliant. The octroi department has undergone modernisation. Our income earlier was Rs 1 billion and now it has gone up to Rs 1.25 billion. So the Thane municipality is not in deficit. Similarly, all the property in Thane district has been reassessed. We have earned Rs 450 million as property tax compared to last year's Rs 220 million. We have collected Rs 250 million as water charges whereas we could collect only Rs 130 million last year. So we have strengthened the corporation's income. But Phase II of the underground sewage and many things are still to be taken up.

But isn't it true you could do all this only because the corporation gave you a free hand?

I never deny this. In fact, I never say that one person has done all the good work. We prepare the policy and the corporation approves it. Had they not done so, these projects would never have materialised.

Moving on to other issues, when the Sairaj building in Thane collapsed two months ago, is it true you insisted on shifting the nearby residents without giving them alternative accommodation?

After the Sairaj building collapse, the remaining five buildings were found dangerous to live in. So we only provided a transit accommodation to the people staying in those buildings and not permanent accommodation as their buildings were illegal.

Do you think bureaucrats can really make a difference in India, if they want to?

Of course, why not! If they are given sufficient powers and sufficient liberty and freedom, they can very well show results.

Who is your ideal bureaucrat?

I don't have any ideal bureaucrat. But I feel if the bureaucrats are determined and strong, they can definitely change things. Also, one must not lose confidence.

The Rediff Interviews

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