10/28/2015

Mrunal Ethics (E3/P4):Case Study on foundational values Civil service

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[Ethics] E3/P4: Case studies on Foundational values of Civil

Services- objectivity, integrity, impartiality, neutrality, anonymity
Posted ByMrunalOn 15/10/2015 @ 1:50 pm In Ethics | 24 Comments
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Case Study: Scheme change with Regime Change

Case Study: Manthan for Dairy Cooperative
Case Study: College conference
Case Study: Liking FB posts of wife
Case Study: Selfi with a star

So far weve learned the foundational values of civil services under E3 part 1 to 3. Now lets
examine a few case studies related to those values:

Case Study: Scheme change with Regime Change

As the secretary of urban development under the previous political regime, you were instrumental
in the design and successful implementation of Gulshan Grover Gatar saaf karo yojana. The
salient features of the scheme were as following:
1. Contractual staff was hired, with stringent provisions of punishment and reward to ensure
their dedication to work.
2. They were given sophisticated instruments designed Tata company for cleaning the sewages.
3. Robust mechanism for inspection and automation designed by Info-lysis company.
4. This scheme won many accolades international organizations.
5. CAG found no errors-mischiefs in its five years of implementation.

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Mrunal Ethics (E3/P4):Case Study on foundational values Civil service

But, after elections, new political party comes in power. The newly appointed Minister for urban
development orders you to divert majority of the staff and budget of that scheme and launch a new
scheme named Prakash Raj Paani Pilaao Yojana, saying that sewage cleaning is doing fine,
but we now need to focus on drinking water.
Given your vast experience as a senior IAS who has worked in so many departments, you
anticipate/apprehend following motives of the new Minister:
1. Due to lack of staff in Gulshan yojana, Sewage cleaning will suffer. Ultimately functions will
be contracted out to a private agency owned by a businessman who had funded the election
campaign of the new party.
2. Since staff is gone, the Sophisticated Tata instruments will malfunction due to lack of proper
up keeping and servicing. Then theyre to be sold to a private agency at throwaway prices and
same private agency will then repair and sell them to another company/state at high prices.
3. Since Gulshan is not abolished, the Info-lysis company will continue receive annual
payments for server-rent and IT support, thereby leading to wastage of tax-payer money. You
may try to terminate or reduce the contract with them but company may bribe the minister to
ensure steady flow of money.
Answer following:
1. What policy advice will you give to the new minister?
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Mrunal Ethics (E3/P4):Case Study on foundational values Civil service

2. Suppose he doesnt agree. You further write to CM. CM calls both of you. You explain your
anticipations/apprehension, while new Minister blames you for mistaking his genuine
interest for water priority as a corruption motive. Ultimately, CM rules in favour of the
minister. Will you seek transfer? Yes/No and Why?
3. After above scene, suppose you continue to work under the same ministry and same
department, what will you do to ensure sewage cleaning doesnt suffer?
4. Minister orders you to design water provision under Prakash Yojana in such manner that it
can also win international accolades like Gulshan Gatar Yojana then how will you proceed?

Case Study: Manthan for Dairy Cooperative

Amrish Puri runs a private dairy and also lends money to the needy villagers to buy cattle and
arrange social-events, but he exploits them by not giving proper remuneration for their milk and
charging exorbitant cumulative interest rates on the loans.
Youre an officer sent by the state dairy development board to initiate dairy cooperative movement
in this village, to free the villagers from his nuisance. Youre given three tasks:
1. Stage-1: Establish a cooperative milk collection center and collect milk from the villagers
and offer them remunerative prices.
2. Stage-2: Generate public awareness about benefits of cooperative dairy operation
3. Stage-3: Conduct a free and fair election and handover the control of this dairy cooperative
to the villagers.

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But, Amrish Puri tries to stall your initiative by following manner:

Every morning at 11AM, a freezer van is supposed to collect milk from your center and bring
it to the main dairy located 50kms away in big city. But driver doesnt come on time or
doesnt deliver milk to the city on time. Upon inquiry you realized that he has been bribed by
Amrish to do mismanagement. You get the driver replaced but new driver also doing the
same.Amrish Puri manages to bribe every driver you replace.
For village dairy cooperative elections, his known associates file nomination papers. They
secretly promise villagers desi-liquor, meat, saree and cattle. His associates also giving caste
and religion color to the election, thereby Defeating your efforts of conducting free and fair
election.
Youre certain that after winning elections Amrish Puris stooges will deliberately
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mismanage the dairy cooperative, thereby forcing villagers to sell milk to his private dairy.
His men burned the huts of the lower caste villagers. When they retaliate, he gets them all
arrested with help of local (and therefore corrupt) Police officials. Then Amrish Puri
himself, gets those lower-caste villagers bailed out of jail to portray his benevolent imageand asking for their votes.
His lawyer comes with an affidavit signed by a village woman which alleges that you sexually
exploited her. Lawyer blackmails that hell submit it to police and your department UNLESS
you (A) work as per wishes of Amrish Puri OR (B) Seek transfer.
You make personal visit to districts collector and SP but theyre too busy firefighting against
an ongoing reservation agitation by Hardik Patel.
Media shows no interest in this small village and its problems.
Answer following Questions:
1. Enumerate the steps you will initiate, ensure that village cooperative movement succeeds in
all three stages against each of the obstacles mentioned above.
2. Your subordinates advice you to use hook-and-crook methods to ensure Amrish Puris
associates dont win the election e.g. exposing true character of Amrish in social media and
whatsapp, rigging of the ballot-box after election is over to make Anti-Amrish faction
candidates winand so on. Given that so far youve exhausted all the options without any
success, will you consider this alternative?

Case Study: College conference

Suppose, youre an IAS officer -invited as the chief guest of a competitive exam awareness
workshop in a womens college. Program schedule contains your motivational speech followed by a
Q&A interaction with the students on UPSC preparation.
During interaction, students begin asking uncomfortable questions about the lagging healtheducation-infrastructure of the state, deterioration of law and order, lack of safety for women, and
how the ruling party of the state and its administrative machinery has failed to anything about It and
recent news report about transfer/suicide of another honest IAS officer.
From your knowledge and personal work experience, you know that participants remarks are valid
and indeed nothing good is being done. What will you do? And why?
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Conclude the program saying no more questions.

Reply to the question agreeing with the participant.
Rebuke the observations made by the participant.
something else.

Case Study: Liking FB posts of wife

Javed is a young Assistant Collector. His wife Shabana is an author, activist and blogger. Both are
very active in facebook and twitter. At both places, Shabana has been posting her views/photos/links
on State-sponsored riots, malnutrition, environmental degradation by SEZs and other sociohttp://mrunal.org/2015/10/ethics-e3p4-case-study-foundational-values-upsc-gs4.html/print/

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economic issues of the state. Javed has habit of clicking like button on facebook and re-tweet
button on twitter to all the posts made by his wife, without even reading them, just to keep wife in
good humor.
Answer following:
1. List the foundational values missing in Javed? And why?
2. Suppose youre the collector and chief Secretary directly sends an SMS order to you to take
care of this mess, how will you proceed?
3. Collector sends an office memo to Javed reprimanding him maligning the image of
government through his social media account and orders him to cleanup the mess. Javed
feels he is being persecuted for his religion, because even other officers wives/relatives are
in similar business of bashing the state government, but collector never sent them a memo.
Youre a family friend of Javed. He comes to ventilate his grievances to you- what will you
advise/observation will you make?

Case Study: Selfi with a star

Mimoh Chakrabarty is a young ACP in charge of the security detail at a blood donation camp
organized at Gujarat university. Chief minister and Hrithik Roshan a top Bollywood star are
invited as the Chief Guests. After CM leaves at 6PM, and other guests are about to leave- Mimoh
asks the Vice Chancellor to take his photo with Hrithik Roshan for uploading on facebook. The VC
obliges, photo goes viral on Facebook but
Local medias criticism against Mimoh
1. Breach of protocol and decorum,
belittling VC by asking him to take
photograph with a Bollywood hero.
2. Conduct unbecoming of an officer, by
acting like a college fan-boy, while in
uniform.
3. Dereliction of duty.

Mimoh blogs to defend himself

1. After CM left, the security duty was over
and office hours were also over. So, there
is no dereliction of duty.
2. I had no intention of belittling the VC. And
VC had obliged in a friendly gusto.
3. Media should focus on more important
issues of troubling the society.

But the news is blown out of proportion both in vernacular media and social media. On daily basis
local politicians, eminent personalities, page3 celebrities and jholachhap NGO turned intellectuals
of Ahmedabad keep making columns. Opposition parties begin citing this episode to highlight
deterioration of law and order in the state is because of carefree policemen. Jokes related to this
event have become viral on whatsapp.
Answer following questions
Q1. Which foundational values for civil services are missing in Mimoh?
Q2. Suppose Youre the police commissioner, and home secretary calls you up to do something,
because he feels that whole episode is putting the ruling party and police personnel in bad light. You
can do one or more of the following steps:
A. Transfer Mimoh to a sideline punishment posting.
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G.

Verbally reprimand Mimoh.

Send an office-memo to Mimoh
Order him to tender unconditional apology.
Make adverse remark in his Annual confidential report/service book
Issue a circular to all police personnel of the city to maintain decorum while in uniform.
Call up the local journalists and tell them to stop daily coverage of this insignificant news
item.
H. Just wait and watch till issue fizzes out and media finds another cheap-story to cover.
Which combination of the step/steps, will you initiate and why?
Visit Mrunal.org/Ethics for more study material on Ethics.
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