Hot seat - Bijay Kumar Patnaik, chairman, Odisha Staff Selection Commission, and former chief secretary

From the towering secretariat building to a single-storey office at a relatively obscure location. How has the transition from chief secretary to staff selection commission chairman been?

I am enjoying this job. There is a lot more leisure, more time to read and do things that I could not have done as chief secretary.

When you were chief secretary, people used to hound you with requests, even during your morning walk. Do you miss all that now? Does it hurt not to be visited by people?

People approach you because you can do something for them. They come not because of what you are but what you do. Once you are out of that office and can’t do those things for them, naturally, they won’t come to you. There is nothing to feel hurt or bad about it.

Those who are close to Naveen are being rehabilitated with suitable posts after their retirement. How do you react to it?

Some of these posts are meant to be manned by retired bureaucrats because of their experience. Others are manned by non-bureaucrats. It all depends on which post is vacant when you retire.

As principal secretary to chief minister, you were in a very influential position and apparently guided the CM on most occasions. Do you feel that you have done a lot for the state in that capacity?

Whether I was principal secretary or chief secretary, I was only playing my role. My job was to present facts before the CM and tell him what is there in the files but the ultimate decision was entirely his own.

There is a perception that you lost the chief minister’s confidence towards the end of your career.

I don’t believe so.

Who was best chief minister to work with during your 37-year-long career?

I don’t think it is right for a bureaucrat to make comparisons or call someone the best. Our job is to serve whoever is at the helm of affairs. I have worked the longest under Naveen Patnaik and J.B. Patnaik.

How do you rate Naveen as a CM?

Excellent! He always allows you to work according to your conscience while adhering to the rules.

Odisha is witnessing a lot of law and order, Maoist and unemployment issues. What is the way out?

Most of the Maoist leaders here are either from Chhattisgarh or Andhra Pradesh. Local leaders are very few. They are active in the peripheral regions such as southern and western Odisha. Maoism is a problem that governments of different states, including ours, are trying to combat. On the other hand, the population has grown much more than the employment opportunities in the state. There is a debate on whether growth or more equitable distribution of wealth will solve the issues. But I won’t say these things have contributed to law and order problems.

Do you think poverty is a threat to Odisha’s development and has also led to the growth of Maoism in the state?

Odisha government has working consistently to reduce poverty. The spread of Maoism has been curbed. At one point, we had more than 15 Maoist-hit districts but it has come down now. That has been possible because of public support.

Do you agree that a lot of developmental projects in the state are delayed due to red tapism?

Delays take place for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, it is the procedure that involves many stages of examination and people think it is red tapism. In a democracy, a proposal has to be examined by a large number of people before a decision is taken.

Critics say that ours is a bureaucrat-driven government. What do you feel about the perception that bureaucrats greatly influence the decisions of their political masters and at times supersede them?

In any government, bureaucrats and politicians have their own distinct place. Ministers are always above bureaucrats. All files go through the ministers and they take the final decision. I don’t think there is any deviation in this procedure.

Did you ever face any political pressure?

People approach us as much as they visit political leaders. A lot of requests do pour in but I have never been pressurised to do something against my will.

Speculations about your interest in politics refuse to die down. Do you have any political ambitions?

None at all. I have made it very clear earlier.

What was the biggest challenge that you countered in your career?

The most challenging time was just after the super cyclone hit Odisha in 1999. Our infrastructure had gone to pieces and the government barely had resources to respond to the situation. I would rate it as the biggest crisis for the state administration.

The government has decided to introduce a state-level eligibility test as a precondition for appointment of lecturers and the exercise is an attempt to revive the state selection board, which has been defunct for almost two decades. What is the current status?

We have already advertised about it. If I am not wrong, two rounds of test have taken place already.

Leading from the front

• Known for his honesty and leadership skills, Bijay Kumar Patnaik is the former chief secretary. After his retirement from the key post in June, he was appointed as the chairman of Odisha Staff Selection Commission

• After graduating in history from BJB College, he pursued a postgraduate degree in political science from Utkal University. Following a brief stint as lecturer at BJB, he joined the services

• The 1976 batch officer was the 39th chief secretary of the state. In his 37-year career, he handled a number of crucial departments such as industries, co-operation, agriculture, waster resources, environment, pollution control and the chief minister’s office. During his tenure as chief secretary, the state government signed a number of MoUs for setting up various industries in the state

• As an intelligent and capable bureaucrat, he enjoyed the confidence of chief minister Naveen Patnaik for nearly a decade. He was succeeded by Jugal Kishore Mohapatra, who was the development commissioner and additional chief secretary of finance department

WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN HAD YOU NOT BEEN AN IAS OFFICER?

Probably a teacher. That is how I started my career.

After completing my postgraduation, I joined BJB College as a lecturer.

Though it was only for a brief period, I enjoyed teaching. Had I not got into the Indian administrative services, I would have continued teaching.

My father was a bureaucrat. Maybe, it was his influence to a large extent that I opted to become a civil servant.

We didn’t have too many options at that point of time and since I was not a science student, I could not have become a doctor or an engineer.