Question:
Sunil is a young civil servant and has a reputation for his competence, integrity, dedication and relentless pursuit of difficult and onerous jobs. Considering his profile, he was picked up by his bosses to handle a very challenging and sensitive assignment. He was posted in a tribal dominated district notorious for illegal sand mining. Excavating sand from the river belt and transporting through trucks and selling them in black market was rampant. This illegal sand mining mafia was operating with the support of local functionaries and tribal musclemen who in turn were bribing selected poor tribals and had kept the tribals under fear and intimidation. Sunil being a sharp and energetic officer immediately grasped the ground realities and the modus operandi followed by the mafia through their devious and dubious mechanism. On making inquiries, he gathered that some of their own office employees are hand in glove with them and have developed a close unholy nexus. Sunil initiated stringent action against them and started conducting raids on their illegal operations of movement of trucks filled with sand.
The mafia got rattled as not many officers in the past had taken such steps against the mafia. Some of the office employees who were allegedly close to the mafia informed them that the officer is determined to clean up the mafia’s illegal sand mining operations in that district and may cause them irreparable damage. The mafia turned hostile and launched a counter-offensive. The tribal muscle men and mafia started threatening him with dire consequences. His family (wife and old mother) were stalked and were under virtual surveillance and thus causing mental torture, agony and stress to all of them. The matter assumed serious proportions when a muscle man came to his office and threatened him to stop raids, etc., otherwise, his fate will not be different than some of his predecessors (ten years back one officer was killed by the mafia).
Identify the different options available to Sunil in attending to this situation.
Critically evaluate each of the options listed by you.
Which of the above, do you think, would be the most appropriate for Sunil to adopt and why? (Answer in 250 words)
Answer:
Public interest happens to be the highest good for civil servants and sometimes they have to go through difficult situations to achieve it. Sunil is also in one such situation where a threat is there to his life and family.
Subject matter of the case -
1. Illegal sand mining nexus is rampantly growing. A young civil servant, Sunil was assigned to tackle the situation.
2. Support of tribal musclemen and local functionaries to the mafia.
3. He vehemently suppressed started conducting raids on illegal operations.
4. Mafia turned hostile and threatened Sunil and his family.
Ethical dilemmas involved:
• Professional integrity versus self and family well-being
• Natural resources as a common good
• Duty of officers to make optimum utilization of resources and enforce law and order.
• Virtue of courage versus love towards family
Different Options Available and their Critical Evaluation:
1. Seeking transfer or applying for leave
2. Maintain status quo and ignore activities of land mafia.
3. Cooperate with the demand of the nexus and become a part of it.
4. Continuation of raids and asking for security of himself and his family and initiating probe to identify involvement of officials.
Option I: Rescue himself from the given assignment and stop raids immediately.
Merits:
● The easiest and straightforward option available.
● The life and dignity of his family including his wife and old mother will be saved.
● He will be able to perform his other professional duties without harassment and threats.
Demerits:
● An act of cowardice for a civil servant with lack of courage and fortitude.
● Defeats the very purpose of the selection of the young officer for the assignment.
● Can create cognitive dissonance; Personal interests over larger public and national interests.
Option II: Do not pay heed to threats and continue raid operations.
Merits:
● He was chosen for the task due to his competence, hence threats and pressure cannot defeat him.
● Working in the public interest is the primary duty of the civil servants.
● It will save him from cognitive dissonance.
Demerits:
● It completely ignores the personal safety and security of the young officer and his family.
● Dedication towards profession is compromising his duties towards family.
● Considering the past cases of murder, this option is clearly inviting death to the doors.
Option III: Take a step back, re-plan the task again innovatively and then take action.
Merits:
● This option will address all the demerits of the above two options.
● Safety and dignity of the family will not be compromised.
● It will be ethically as well as professionally the best available option.
Demerits:
● It is a complicated option which requires cooperation of all the stakeholders involved, including the colleagues who are hand in gloves with the mafia.
● This option, though mitigates, but not completely eliminates the life-threatening consequences.
The Most Appropriate for Sunil to Adopt & Why?
The most appropriate option for Sunil to adopt is Option III, by taking a step back, he can completely reprogram his course of action carefully;
● Find out what were the findings of the committee established after the murder of the young officer ten years back.
● What precautionary plan was put in place?
● Even after ten years of murder, if there is no safety net plan for civil servant, he can request appropriate authorities to design such plan.
● Temporarily shift his family to a safer place, once assignment is done, he can reunite with his family.
● Use his collegiality, persuasion skills and emotional intelligence to win the trust of fellow officers and tribals.
● After isolating the mafia from support of the two ends, he can address the core issue of illegal mining in the district.
Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. Sand mining causes environmental damage and creates inequality in the society (tribal people). Being a civil servant, it is a legal duty to follow rule of law and abide by the constitutional norms. Deviation from one’s duty in fear of personal threat shows lack of integrity. Prime duty of civil servant is to ensure welfare of the citizens.Gandhi‘s talisman and concept of Sarvodaya to be followed.