Barely six months into his posting as Sub-Collector of Padmanabhapuram town in Kanniyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, IAS officer Koushik H R started garnering praises from the locals for his out-of-the-box initiatives that are aimed at bettering the lives of the tribal communities and senior citizens.
BRINGING SMILES
In the first week of his joining, the 2020 batch officer went on an inspection and met the tribals in the region. Mr. Koushik came across a 23-year-old man, Anand, who had been bedridden for 3-4 years. He only had his poor mother to take care of him. The IAS officer assured them of his free medical treatment.
Soon, Anand was shifted to the oldest private hospital in Kanniyakumari district where the hospital took care of all the expenses. Later, he was referred to the government medical college hospital. Today Anand walks independently.
“Within five months Anand has started walking. Any change requires compassion. The help I have received from the local people in bringing about this transformation in Anand’s situation has had a rippling effect,” Mr. Koushik told Indian Masterminds.
There are many smiling faces and even more who have nurtured faith in the officer’s ability to bring about positive changes.
A MESSIAH TO MANY
As the SDM, Mr. Koushik has enormous power under the Senior Citizen Welfare and Maintenance Act. Old parents can approach an SDM as per the law against their wards if they refuse to take care of the parents after being gifted property rights.
Under this Act, there is a provision if a parent has given the property as a gift to their children, and the kids refuse to take care of them thereafter, the SDM can cancel the settlement and even nullify the property gift. Unfortunately, this power is not properly exercised by the officers, but Mr. Koushik helped an elderly couple using the provision.
The old parents were thrown out of their house by their son. When the incident came to the IAS officer’s notice he conducted an inquiry and canceled the property settlement. Mr. Koushik has used the welfare act in four such cases so far and the community of senior citizens in the town just cannot praise him enough for his judicious actions.
“On many occasions, it has been found that people misuse this welfare act, but I have been trying my best to help the senior citizens here,” Mr. Koushik said.
EMPOWERING WIDOWS
Apart from these, Mr. Koushik has distributed 140 Destitute Widow Certificates which as per the Tamil Nadu government provide poor widows with a source of income. For this every month, the officer calls the district employment officer and conducts a workshop to make the populace aware of their rights.
“In their situation, they should know that there is no need to be lifelong destitute, instead the government has provided to empower and provide them jobs,” Mr. Koushik said.
OTHER INITIATIVES
The officer has also been setting up libraries for the tribal schools. He is ensuring the Kani tribals know about their land rights under the Forest Rights Act which will help improve their living conditions.
As Mr. Koushik continues to work for the common people, he is also trying to provide solar power to 150-200 houses where there is no electricity due to forest restrictions, he says, “None of these are part of my job profile, but it is all these initiatives that give me the actual satisfaction.”
