Author: V.Balachandran
Publication: Sunday Guardian
Date: December 24, 2012
URL: http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/a-bureaucrats-story-to-gladden-our-hearts

A massive rehabilitation work was undertaken by a young IAS officer after the 1967 Koyna earthquake.

At a time when our bureaucracy is facing increasing flak for poor governance and negligent rehabilitation work, this old story might gladden our hearts. This is about the massive rehabilitation work directed by a young IAS officer after the 11 December 1967 Koyna earthquake. Compared to other earthquakes in India, this might have been small in terms of casualties (177 dead, 2,000 injured, 50,000 houses destroyed), but was important since the 339 feet high hydro-electric dam straddling the high Sahyadri ranges was its epicentre. Had it breached, lakhs living in southern Satara and western Sangli districts would have been under 20-40 feet of water with no chances of escape since the quake took place at 4.23 a.m. local time. It paralysed normal life in the state, including in Bombay, where 65 textile mills had to stagger their operations, streetlights switched off and cinema shows cancelled. The entire Koyna township was reduced to rubble. At least 50 villages in the neighbourhood were affected with house collapses. Thousands were rendered homeless.

The Koyna relief saga was a shining example of the exemplary leadership by this officer who had to single-handedly undertake that responsibility within a few days of his taking charge as "collector". He had none to guide him and no manuals to consult. Poor communications prevented him from getting the latest information, but the police machinery came in for help. Accompanied by the superintendent of police in uniform he went out to calm a frightened public. Police vehicles were sent to detect any increase in water levels in the river, which would have risen with a breach of the dam. He then moved to Koyna Nagar, traced a telephone linesman to repair the line for communicating with the Chief Secretary to seek help in removing the rubble, extricating the dead, providing temporary shelter, providing bed, blankets, kitchen utensils, rations, doctors and medicines. Cooked food was distributed through NGOs. Makeshift kitchens were set up and free rations given to the affected persons. He and his staff stayed at the spot for seven months continuously to supervise the rehabilitation work.

An added worry was that the entire rehabilitation had be over in five months before the heavy monsoon, which usually lashes out by May end. Nearly 50,000 houses had to be rebuilt with earthquake proof design, with teakwood embedded in cement concrete as columns with mud plastered split bamboo walls and galvanised sheet roof. His challenges were speedy procurement, cutting out red tape and corruption in procuring galvanised sheets, bamboos, teakwood, cement, nuts and bolts and transporting all these very speedily through narrow roads to the area. Teams comprising revenue and engineering members were constituted to survey individual damage for providing compensation.

The young collector had to give an unprecedented order to an accounts officer, deputed from Bombay to disburse two months' salary to the government employees that he should accept identification by Employees' Association office bearers since all their identity documents were destroyed. The relief work was not without a touch of humour.

A senior Central government official, who was deputed to assess the earthquake damage, initially tried to play down the situation, but nature willed otherwise. When he was holding discussions in a makeshift office a sharp tremor occurred and he ran out in panic. But the local officials led by the Collector continued to sit in the office hall since they knew that there would be no roof collapse with galvanised sheets. The official sheepishly returned and passed their demands. The collector's personal leadership was appreciated by the Maharashtra Congress leadership including the late Y.B. Chavan.

What happened to the IAS official? A file was moved from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to urge the bestowing of a "Padmashri" for his leadership in ensuring a speedy rehabilitation within seven months. However, bureaucrats at the time were not given any such honours and the PM's office did not agree to it. In a few years' time the officer chose to take voluntary retirement when he found it difficult to work with a rabble rousing Chief Minister, known as a modern "Haroon al-Rashid".