Dr. K.V. Rajendra agrees to streamline office process to reduce waiting time for service-seekers

 Mysuru: Of all the programmes organised by Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) to celebrate National Consumer Day-2022 (NCD-2022), the one likely to have a long-lasting impact was the one with the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Mysuru on Dec. 27.

As part of the NCD celebration to empower consumers, MGP had a dialogue with members of District Consumer Redressal Commission led by its President Justice Narayanappa to promote speedy and summary trial, interaction with students at Maharani’s Commerce College, two AIR broadcasts on rise and fall of consumer movement and consumer education, day-long food adulteration demonstration at city centre, talk to students at Rotary Brindavan School, interaction with officials at Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and DC’s Office to promote “In democracy citizens are masters and not to be treated  as servants.”

At present, Mysuru is having a down to earth DC, Dr. K.V. Rajendra with progressive views on what is expected of a public servant. When MGP approached to organise NCD-2022 to promote the sacred principle of “Citizens are masters”, he readily accepted to host the event. But we did not realise that it was he who would lead the presentation.

Despite the last minute emergency to visit hospitals to get ready for Covid, he hurried to meet the MGP delegation. His first response was that there is no need for him to call his staff for MGP to discuss ‘citizens being masters’ since it is his job and he intends to do himself.

When MGP members told what they had intended, he called all his top officials.

MGP also discussed the often quoted example of “three masons” by famous Management Guru Peter Drucker.

The DC led the discussion by describing how four masons doing exactly the same task of carrying bricks from one place to another place described what they were doing. For one it was just carrying bricks, for second to earn money, for third it was taking care of family and for the fourth it was building a great temple. He urged his staff that they should think like the fourth brick layer to serve the people in a noble way.

He told how he felt sorry when his father had to wait once for two hours to get some work done at a Government Office. The DC suggested to the office staff to think of their parents while serving the public. What a noble thought.

He said that every day when they come to office they should plan to serve at least five citizens in an out-of-the-box way by going out to find their problems and help them. He gave his own example of how he approached some citizens seeking help to get ration cards or land problems.  He said that there should be huge cultural change at Government Offices to treat citizens as masters with courtesy.

When the DC is the Chairman of more than 120 District-level Committees, it is humanly impossible for any one to do justice to all the pressing problems.

The need to delegate work was discussed to serve the citizens better, faster and courteously despite the heavy load imposed by the colonial type of governance where every problem has to be handled by the DC.

He also agreed to try his level best to streamline the office process to reduce the time service-seekers have to wait while discussing the need to wait for hours to meet him.

By Bhamy V. Shenoy