'Bihar's infrastructure has seen a change for the better'

The Inquirer

First it was its road and bridge infrastructure and then its social sectors such as education became harbingers of this progress. When Pratyaya Amrit received the prime minister’s award for excellence in public administration for 2009-2010 at the Civil Services Day in New Delhi last week, it was a recognition for the transformation he had effected in the once-sick Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam (Bihar state bridge construction corporation). Thrilled but keeping his feet firmly on the ground, this 1991-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer remarks: “The award is a recognition for the work that is happening in Bihar today and it will send a positive message to many people... It is about the 500 employees of the nigam coming together and working to make it a success.” Amrit, now a secretary of Bihar government road construction department, spoke to B S Arun of Deccan Herald shortly after receiving the award. Excerpts:

What is the story behind the award?

The award is for our initiative spun around the slogan ‘Hum vishwas ka pul banate hain’ (we build bridges of faith). I was appointed chairman of the nigam in April 2006 — I was the first non-political chairman. It was already sick, the earlier government had put it under liquidation and was facing closure, employees were not getting salaries properly and morale was at a low ebb. It took me 3 to 4 months to understand the organisation. There were schemes that were pending for 15 to18 years. The government gave us Rs 100 crore initially. We categorised construction of bridges costing Rs 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore and divided the entire state accordingly.

I realised that the decision making was the key. I appointed officiating officers for different projects at no extra cost. I transferred people if they were found inefficient. Putting right persons at right places was important. It was one of the reasons for our success. We gave them adequate people and power. The others took notice, monitoring became better. Within a few months, two bridges were opened; chief minister Nitish Kumar himself inaugurated them. With this, morale of the team went up. Soon, we decided to take up a total of 500 projects. We outsourced design and even monitoring work. Earlier, corruption and threat used to happen at tendering stage but this stopped as we made tendering online and because of this, costs came down. We modified the rules too.

We made use of technology. There was one engineer — Anupam Singh, an IITian working for a Bangalore software firm. He came up with a product called ‘mobile inspector report’ which was of great help. With this GPRS handset you can upload all data in a customised form, take photo of the site and put your signature. It can be uploaded to your mobile. Because of this gadget we started monitoring every bridge, every project. It did two things — one, it helped boost the morale of engineers — they all got GPRS-enabled mobile — and second, it ensured that to click a photo, they did not have to go to the site.

So, what was the end result?

By 2008, we completed 150 bridges and by 2009 when I left, a total of 300 had been completed. In 33 years, the nigam had constructed 319 bridges but in thee years, we built over 300 bridges. The turnover, which was Rs 43 crore when I joined, had gone up to Rs 750 crore when I left and now, it has crossed Rs 1,000 crore with a net profit of more than Rs 100 crore. The nigam has taken up roads, irrigation projects and even event management.

Not long ago, Bihar was known for everything that is bad, be it corruption, extortion, kidnapping, maladministration etc. How things have changed now?

All these negative points were true. But now, thanks to the vision of the chief minister, Bihar has made tremendous strides in education, health, etc. Bihar is the first state to reserve 50 per cent of the seats for women in panchayat raj institutions. In short, the social sector is undergoing rapid progress, that is what all indicators say. Bihar’s infrastructure has seen a change for the better, be it roads or bridges while the energy sector will take some more time.

What was the feeling when you received the award?

It’s something I can’t explain. We long for this moment. I feel it was an award for the entire workforce who worked with me to take the nigam to the path of success. When I took over, I never thought I would win this award, I was fortunate. It is a recognition for the value of which you realise only when you step on to the dais to receive the award. It spurs the younger officers. This should be replicated at the state level for state service officers. Likewise, there should be awards for engineers on the Visvesvaraya Day to encourage them which we are starting in Bihar.

What are your suggestions to improve the civil service system?

At a personal level, I am for induction of people from private sectors to head some key departments, like for example, the DGFT (directorate general of foreign trade) or NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) where IAS can also compete. This will bring in a whiff of fresh air.