Kahuto Chishi Sumi
Dimapur
For a society to function properly, law and order must be maintained; and this is the responsibility of a government. But a government which does not abide by its own rules cannot maintain order for long, for then it loses moral authority. Moral authority is as real as it is intangible; it is what keeps the lawbreakers and dishonest in awe and fear of the law abiders and honest.
The miasma of corruption that has pervaded every department of the Government of Nagaland has seen it unable to resist the demands of the Underground Factions in its offices. The loss of moral authority on the part of those occupying constitutional offices, has seen them giving in to the demands of these extra constitutional “governments”. This has led to a symbiotic relationship between the government officials and underground factions, wherein all funds are “shared”.
This symbiotic relationship of corruption has left the leadership, both government and underground, powerless against the rampant lawlessness exhibited by their underlings. The fact that the Ministers steal, make it impossible for them to control their departmental heads from doing what they like, and similarly, the accumulation of riches by those in the upper ranks of the underground factions, make them powerless in controlling the extortion carried out by their lower cadres.
Things have come to such a pass that the line between plain theft and “taxation” by the underground “governments” has all but disappeared; and the people of Nagaland no longer notice the acts of corruption and nepotism openly practised in the government departments.
A classic example of the inability to distinguish between the activities of the Underground cadres and plain thieves is that of the plight of the L.P.G. distributors. Two drivers and their helpers have been assaulted and robbed, on the pretext of non-payment of “taxes” and the police seem to have no clue; neither can any of the underground groups categorically deny the involvement of their cadres in the incidents. The consequence is that the Gas Distributors have decided to down shutters, a completely understandable decision.
But even more alarming than this is the open flouting of norms, exploitation of employees and rigging of exams being carried out by the Principal Director of the Health and Family Welfare Department, a certain Dr. Vizolie Z Suokhrie.
Flouting of Norms: The norm for appointment of nurses was (i) All aspiring nurses would go through an interview, said interview having reservation for backward tribes (ii) All who cleared the interview would undergo training (iii) On completion of training, nurses would be inducted on the basis of merit. The deliberate policy of the government in refusing to create new job opportunities created a massive backlog of trained nurses, who waited patiently, some up to 18 years, to be inducted into service, according to the batch they belonged to.
Under the excuse of the Coronavirus pandemic, the State Cabinet has sabotaged the only fair system of government appointment existing in Nagaland, by deciding that of the newly created 221 nursing posts, 143 posts will be filled under the old system; and of the remaining 78 posts, 39 posts would also be filled under the old system and 39 posts would be open to all. Now the Principal Director has overruled the State Cabinet and decided that of the 221 posts, 111 posts will be filled under the old system; and the remaining 110 posts will be open to all.
Exploitation of Employees: Of all the frontline health care workers, laboratory technicians have the most dangerous job. They are the first to be exposed to any deadly disease while collecting samples and during the process of analyzing the said samples. Despite these risks, the Nagaland Lab Technicians soldier on, inspite of being the lowest paid in India.
18 regular posts of Laboratory Technicians with pay scales starting at Rs. 26,400 (for diploma holders) and Rs. 28,700 (for degree holders) have been advertised. The pay pay scales have suddenly and arbitrarily been lowered to a flat scale of Rs. 20,500 for both diploma and degree holders. Furthermore, a new notification has been issued that the nature of the post has been change from “regular appointment” to “temporary appointment”.
Rigging of Exams: 21 AYUSH Medical Officer posts have been advertised. These are First Class Gazetted Officer posts and hence appointments to these positions should be done through the Nagaland Public Service Commission. But the Principal Director has decided to conduct departmental exams and has broken up the marks in the following way:- Marks in University Exams=50 marks; P.G. Diploma=3 marks; P.G. Degree 6 marks; Post Doctoral Degree=10 marks; Work Experience= 2 marks per year up to 30 marks; Viva-Voce= 10 marks. Furthermore, these MO posts, which were “temporary appointments” have suddenly been changed to “engagements”. These “engagements” are certain to be construed to regular appointments, in the future.
This exam has been rigged so much in favour of the senior Doctors, that they have an advantage of up to 30 marks. Can you imagine an exam where you have only no possibility of scoring more than 70 out of 100, whereas other have the possibility of scoring 100 with up to 30 marks assured? How is it that when it comes to nurses, their seniority is useless whereas for AYUSH doctors, every year of their seniority is worth 2 marks in an “open” exam?
But the real question is, “Who governs Nagaland?” Is the Government of Nagaland run by our elected representatives? Or by megalomaniacal heads of department, who seem to think that the departments they hold charge of are their inherited property or their personal fiefdoms.
I conclude with respectfully putting these questions before our Honourable Governor, (i) Is a government whose directives are brazenly flouted by departmental heads, a legitimate government? (ii) How do you expect to control those who operate beyond the Constitution of India, when those who owe their positions to the Constitution, openly flout its laws, customs and norms? (iii) How is the shameless theft, by Government Officials, of the funds, jobs and opportunities provided by the Government of India, any different from the extortion of the underground groups? (iv) Must the maintenance of law and order apply only to the public and underground factions or also to government employees?
The writer is the Convenor of Concerned People of Nagaland.
