Touted as a ‘turnaround’ specialist, P D Shenoy is a retired IAS officer who is an expert on administration and industrial relations. He is also a prolific writer on varied aspects of public administration.
He has held positions in the Government of Karnataka and well as the Government of India. He considers the negotiation with the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) he did during his stint with the Home ministry as his biggest win. “BLT leaders were demanding a separate state for the Bodos within the boundaries of India. L K Advani, the then Home Minister, appointed me as the principal negotiator with substantial powers. After nearly two dozen rounds of discussions, peace was restored,” he says.
A dedicated professional, Shenoy says he sometimes pushed himself past the
limit. Once when he was the chief labour commissioner, he overworked himself to the point of hospitalisation. “At that time, I was granted a compulsory 30 day medical leave,” he says, adding that he would do things differently now, if he could.
His long tenure in public administration made him witness many interesting events.
“The west coast highway connecting Karnataka and Goa that was to pass through Karwar ran into some trouble and I was called in to help. The fishermen, who had huts on the proposed land, were not agreeing to relocation. After speaking to them, they finally agreed to move but asked for two days to prepare. While I was happy with the negotiation, the superintendent of police was not amused. I couldn’t figure out why until one of the fishermen confided in me that the reason they asked for those two days was so that they could move their contraband liquor to a safe place.”
He has worked in with the KSRTC and as the commissioner of the Bangalore City Corporation. He says that during his tenure, the corporation was more manageable as there were only 87 wards in the city, as compared to the 198 wards currently.
“There is an urgent need to restore our lakes, to strengthen our road network by widening, asphalting, white-topping etc. Drains have to be cleared much before the rainy season. Rainwater harvesting measures and segregation of garbage at source have to be ensured,” he says.
He has written three books; one on his turnaround practices, another about the consumer protection act and the third called ‘Lamp Light in the Sun’.
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