Mr. V Balasubramanian, who retired as the Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka, reveals inside information about the goings-on in government and bureaucracy and takes the lid off many controversial incidents that made headlines during his days in the IAS. With his book, Fall From Grace: Memoir of a Rebel IAS Officer’, he once again opens a can of worms. The book takes the readers through his IAS journey where he so often invited hostility for calling out corruption at the highest of places, and gives a glimpse of why he is known as one of the upright and rebel officers of all time.
In this second part of our exclusive conversation with him, the 1965-batch IAS officer, who is enjoying retirement by following his passion for writing these days, shares what kind of consequences he had to face for standing up against corruption in the system.
CAME UP WITH A HARD HITTING REPORT
After his retirement in 2001, Mr. Balasubramanian was made the Chairman of Task Force for Prevention of Land Grabbing in Karnataka (2009-10). While serving here, many incidents came to his notice about land mafia illegally taking over government properties. He mentioned all this clearly in his report named Greed and Connivance. The state government of the time not only refused to print this but even abolished the existing task force. In his book, he mentions how he printed 10,000 copies of the report in both Kannada and English and sent them to every MLA, minister, and even members of the civil society.
TRAINED GUNS ON A MLA
In his report, he also called out a MLA from the Congress party for encroaching on forest land. This became an issue in the Legislative Assembly during the Siddaramaiah government (2013-18). When a newspaper asked Mr. Balasubramanian about it, he gave them all the details. The issue was taken up in both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council and the concerned MLA even broke down during one session.
The Privileges Committee of the Karnataka Legislature sent notice to Mr. Balasubramanian and tried to haul him up by hook or crook. They dropped the idea only when media criticized their actions and kept highlighting that no legislature privilege allows any MLA to encroach on forest land.
ON NEPOTISM ACROSS THE BOARD
Mr. Balasubramanian says that there has been a consistent fall across the board when it comes to corruption and nepotism. “Earlier, this was a gentle fall and now it is fast. Not only the judiciary or bureaucracy, but even the media is corrupt now. That is why I have chosen the title Fall From Grace. The ‘resort politics’ have increased and judiciary doesn’t even interfere.”
He didn’t leave out the UPSC, saying nepotism exists there, too. “There is a set pattern for getting into civil services. You have to go through three stages. The Pre and Mains are still clear, nobody messes up in that, but there have been cases where the interview board favoured certain candidates. Although that doesn’t make huge difference, but still that is an example of nepotism.”
Saying that it was easy for him to write this book as he is from the south, and not from the north, he, however, admits that the situation is getting bad in the southern states also. Still, he wants more and more officers to write their memoirs as “it is important for the public to know what goes on in the corridors of power”.
