My experience as an Assistant Commissioner [AC]...Reply to Miss/Mr Anonymous

Hello Miss/Mr Anonymous, thanks for your visit on the blog....You have asked me to pen down my experience as an Assistant Commissioner[AC]...Let me share my experiences......We, a batch of 105 of 60th batch of IRS[C&CE] Probationers were relieved from NACEN, Faridabad on 14th of May 2010. We joined our respective locations on next Monday....Apart from joining formalities, We were asked to wait for few days for the final allocation of exact place of postings....I got posting some where in northern part of this great country. Finally I joined office on 31st of May,2010 as an independent 'AC'....I was a bit nervous but fully charged determined to change things from the bottom. I found huge mismanagement, pile up of files with red tape across them [remember red tapism??], gross indiscipline among junior officers, etc...Almost all pejorative sign I have seen in my division. The tax arrears are around 200 Cr...The incumbent 'AC' didn't take any pain to recover the government dues...The office hours are from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM but people come at 11 AM and work starts at 11:30 AM....This problem was pathetic in my Division. I started coming to office at 9:20 AM and made surprise checks...Now things are improving slowly and officials start coming by 10 AM....There are incidences of rampant corruption at every stage from receipt of DAK [approx Rs-100/- per DAK] to issuing various licences. No file will move until clients pay money and be present in front of the officer....These are very serious issues...I have seen files pending from year 2004....The refund/rebate claims of clients pending from year 2003 onwards....Some time, I feel help less as I can do very little to remove all these dark sides of the department.
Thus, one fine morning, I circulated one sheet asking the brief details about my subordinate officials and their experiences in the Department, their status of satisfaction/dissatisfaction and suggestions to improve the over all functioning of the department. Some of them come up with the quick reply. Some of them just copied the suggestions from their colleagues [I told them this too] sheet...But, I am happy that now things are changing in my division. Officials have realised the winds of change...They are coming forward and ready to work...Now all the computers are working properly in my division. I am about to get link them with the Internet..I am preparing a data base of the clients and trying to contact them through E-Mails....Sending the intimation about the status of their file through E-Mail, asking their problems and possible suggestions....Some of the clients are responding this positive move nicely..Some of them are not taking any interest...Thus I realised, the change is possible in the government department too provided It should come from the top and taking every body in to confidence. Every body in the department should realise his/her importance and significance....The change will be permanent if clients will also co-operate with this new change..I am trying to use IT service to minimise the client-government interface to minimise the incidence of corruption....I believe 'CHANGE IS POSSIBLE AND VERY NEAR BY IN MY DIVISION WHERE CLIENTS WILL BE HAPPY AND GOVERNMENT WILL EARN HUGE REVENUE'........keep blogging