There are places in India nobody wants to go to, even the civil servants. One such unwanted place is Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh. Two distinct features characterize this district: lack of social life and influence of naxalism. Is it, therefore, any wonder that the past two decades have seen postings of 15 collectors here?
But this trend finally got broken when Ms Chavi Bhardwaj became the Collector of Dindori. She held this position till recently- and she has been the longest serving collector of the district, for close to three years. One attribute which made Ms Bhardwaj different from her predecessors was her outlook. She took her her stint in Dindori as an opportunity, rather than a punishment which should be suffered in silence or run away from.
During her tenure here, she proved to be a highly efficient and pro-development officer. One of her most successful initiatives has been Project `Akanksha’.
Project `Akanksha’
The literacy rate of Dindori is around 71 %, which is more than many regions of Madhya Pradesh. But still it is one of the most backward areas in terms of development and naxalism here is also a big concern. In an interview, Ms. Bhardwaj said, “It was a challenging posting. The social life is zero here but that has proved to be a blessing in disguise for me. It helped me a lot in solving the grassroot problems like corruption”.
Ms. Bhardwaj, who was an engineer before joining civil services, had a shocking experience in her early days as a bureaucrat when a municipal officer offered her bribe. She didn’t let go of this and took strict action him. Unlike other district collectos, she was very punctual while serving in the district. She would be in office before 10 am. On Thursdays and Saturdays, she would go for field visits and meet peoples in the villages. People had immense trust and faith on her. They would listen to whatever she said and acted accordingly.
When she launched Project ‘Akanksha’, people came forward to help her in every way. Under this scheme, 100 meritorious students were chosen for IIT training in collaboration with Resonance, a Kota-based coaching institute.
“Since the district is categorised as a left-wing extremism affected district, it was important to pay urgent attention to the young and jobless. It is these men who are recruited by Maoists, who have a serious presence in the neighbouring Chhattisgarh. Thus was born `Akankha ‘(aspirations)”, she said.
To keep Project `Akanksha’ alive and running, Ms Bhardwaj utilised funds from the integrated action plan for tackling naxalism. Apart from this she also initiated many other projects in Dindori.
A 2008 batch officer, Ms Bhardwaj is currently posted as additional commissioner (Tribal Development) in Madhya Pradesh. Earlier, she was also associated with the state government as Deputy Secretary.
