Uttarakhand's 1-yr income can last it 5 yrs

Q&A: BC Khanduri

how he will change things in his state

Now that you have become the Chief Minister, what is the first thing you are going to do?

I can answer this without hesitation: restore administrative discipline. There is administrative anarchy in Uttarakhand. No one listens to anyone, not the bureaucrats, not the MLAs. If you asked Tiwariji (N D Tiwari, the former chief minister), he would say: "What can I do, no one listens to me." There is no accountability, no responsibility and an administration that is unresponsive.

Let me give you an example. Some months ago, an ex-minister and MLA barged into the office of a secretary to the state government and nearly beat up the official. His grouse was, there was no kerosene in the PDS shop in his constituency. The incident was widely reported, but there was no action from the government "" neither to enquire why there was no kerosene, nor to punish the MLA for misbehaviour. I feel sorry that a person of Tiwariji's seniority has to suffer so much verbal abuse: it was at one time, the modus operandi of a group of MLAs "" the only way to get your work done was to surround Tiwariji and shout at him and abuse him till in sheer helplessness, he signed the files.

The lack of seriousness with which elected representative take their job is amazing. A meeting was called by the tourism minister to discuss a proposal for tourism development. Foreigners were present at the meeting. The Minister arrived at leisure, 45 minutes late. As he walked in, he said: "Sarkari damaad aa gaye hain (The poodles of the government have arrived)," indicating the Chief Minister had sent these people, and he was not interested in the meeting. The other day, a lady officer called half a dozen other senior officers for a meeting. It was to be held at her residence that has an adjoining meeting room. She arrived at the meeting and accompanying her were her two Alsation dogs. They were left free to roam around and sniff at the officers. I was appalled to hear all this. Is this a professional way to function?

All this means bureaucrats have done wrong things that MLAs and ministers have asked them to do and therefore feel, they can blackmail them.

What are you going to do about it?

Wait and see. Uttarakhand will get the message very quickly. The holiday is over. I'm going to put the state back on the rails. I feel terrible when I see the open corruption, the derailing of the administration... I, a Major General of the Indian Army, went to jail as part of the movement to create this state. We were arrested, my clothes were torn and we were lodged in Varanasi jail, along with lifers, people who were in prison for 35-, 40-year terms for murder. People lost their lives in the movement; our sisters and mothers sacrificed a lot. I didn't go through all that to see what Uttarakhand has become today... Discipline will return. I tolerated no laxity when I was a Union minister, I will give no quarter. Corruption ends now.

I am going to give the bureaucracy two weeks. If they can't sort themselves out in two weeks, they will be sacked . Half the problem is created if the top man can't communicate what he wants to those who work for him. When they know what you want, they will do what you tell them.

What are your priorities for developing the state?

It is a field wide open. Uttarakhand has natural resources so vast, a year's income can last five years if harnessed properly. My immediate priority is to develop irrigation, health and education. Do you know, in my state, if a pregnant woman has to go for delivery, they have to tie her with rope to a chair like this (taps his chair) and carry her? If there is no rope, she can slip and slide down the mountainside. Why should this be the case?

Uttarakhand has vast hydel potential. We can give 40 to 50,000 Mw to the nation. Each Mw can earn us Rs 1 crore. The possibilities in tourism development are unlimited. We have to welcome tourists, not drive them away. Then there is development of agriculture, horticulture and floriculture. Also, cottage industry.

What is your assessment of roads, the job you know best?

The Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojana is meant for states like Uttarakhand. But the state government's performance has been atrocious this year, we have returned Rs 274 crore unutilised, because we could not spend in time.

Earlier, you could leave politics to others. But you will have to manage that as well now. You are one short of majority, and the BJP hasn't exactly swept the polls...

We were expecting better results. We haven't done well in Hardwar. In Pauri, out of eight (seats), we had one last time, we have four this time. In Tehri we got none last elections, this time we have two.

You and Koshiyariji couldn't get along. There were a large number of rebels...

When the seats were finalised, three or four people were promised per seat, but the ticket was given to just one; so, the others became rebels. Some were persuaded to stand down. Others persisted. The serious rebels were just eight to ten.

You will have the problem of the lal batti (red light) syndrome too. A state as small as yours cannot possibly accommodate everyone in the council of ministers, so you will have to spend money creating boards, etc like Tiwariji did...

No not necessarily. Don't forget we were in power for 12 months in the past. There was no scandal then. If the purpose is right and the people are right, not everyone expects to become a minister.I am quite clear. There will be no lal batti distribution to individuals "" only for the development of the hills.

There is also the charge that you were nothing more than a friendly opposition to the Congress

That is one faction in the Congress talking to embarrass the other one. It has nothing to do with us. We may have erred. But this was a political handle to beat us with.

For the first time, Uttarakhand saw the emergence of a Muslim party...

I am not worried. There are certain pockets in the state where Muslims are concentrated in large numbers. Their high percentage can affect electoral outcomes. But then there are pockets dominated by the BSP, SP... Religion and caste don't worry me.