In our ever-curious ‘nation’, which wants everything to ‘know’, and with the 24×7 news media competing with each other to regurgitate the same old trite every day, rarely has anyone paused and reflected on what produced a Puja Khedkar, the former ‘probationer’ IAS officer who has apparently caused some degree of damage to the name, reputation and ‘brand’ of the IAS?
The answer is the IAS and the system attendant to it! Her father, who has been an IAS officer, enjoyed the status, discretions, powers, and immunities that conventionally come with the IAS. Perhaps Puja’s sense of entitlement and impunity to defy all rules and regulations stem from her father’s exalted status and abuse of power as an IAS officer.
The young woman allegedly obtained a fake ‘nomadic’ caste certificate to gain admission into MBBS in past, and arranged a fake ‘OBC’ certificate to bypass the rigours of the ‘creamy layer’ norms despite possessing wealth in crores. She then secured ‘disabilities’ certificates and finally landed a spot in the IAS, albeit at the slightly delayed age of 34. This is somewhat higher than the average age of 29-30, at which other IAS officers are inducted for training, instillation of values, and undertaking arduous ‘Bharat Darshan’ tours and learning experiences from an ‘academy’ in Mussoorie.
Interestingly, when she joined the IAS, she declared a wealth of about Rs 17 crore despite not having undertaken any substantial job or enterprise of her own at that time. The acquisition of such significant wealth without an active role or support system—given her status as the daughter of a prominent civil servant—would be extremely difficult to comprehend.
While the extent of forgery, distortions, and accumulation of wealth in the name of one of the Khedkar children is becoming public, what ‘Papa Khedkar’ did for the rest of the family is yet to be fully revealed.
All that can be inferred so far is that ‘Mommy Khedkar’ has acquired farmland, although it is unclear where she earned enough money to buy it. Notably, she carries firearms and drives around in a Land Cruiser, accompanied by her own security and attendants. ‘Papa Khedkar’, while being in the IAS to ‘serve the nation’, has managed to provide himself with a financial cushion, declaring wealth of about Rs 40 crore. We do not know the extent of their undeclared wealth and assets, how much might be held in benami accounts, or what assets they may have in offshore jurisdictions. Furthermore, it is unclear how much of the money they have already spent, expended, and enjoyed.
With these questions still looming large, let’s return to the issue at hand: Could all this have been possible without the active participation of ‘Papa Khedkar’, an ‘already IAS’ officer?
If not, this leads us to a crucial question: What enables an ‘already IAS’ officer to commit such brazen acts and transgressions without drawing any attention, raising any eyebrows, or facing any repercussions? On the contrary, it appears that while working to secure provisions for himself and his family, ‘Papa Khedkar’ was able to continue climbing the ranks within the IAS, eventually retiring with his honour and all benefits intact!
It’s plausible that had Puja been a little discreet and ‘careful’, probably everything would have eventually passed with ease and smoothness. The Khedkars might have remained a seemingly honourable family of IAS officers, worthy of emulation in society and free to pursue their next venture!
Well, let’s direct our attention again to the issue involved here. The truth that any sensible person would recognise is that Puja Khedkar could not have obtained fake caste and disability certificates, amassed wealth in crores, and secured VIP entitlements without the active or passive involvement of some IAS officers, including, potentially, her father, who is an IAS officer himself.
Before apologists of the IAS system cite the actions of the current Pune Collector—an IAS, probably, who initiated the present case involving Puja Khedkar—let it be known that this represents an exception rather than the norm. It is a common refrain among those familiar with India’s bureaucracy that IAS officers do not act against ‘their own’ unless it is an extreme case. So, the possible retort that it’s the IAS which acts in any case of deviations holds no water, so let’s not get swayed by it.
That the IAS runs and rules this country is common knowledge. They control land, forests, mines, the environment, industries, investments, disinvestments, procurement, disposals, sales, power, energy, taxation—from radio waves and liquor to sugar, steel, medicines, hospitals, educational institutions, banks, cooperative bodies, and whatnot! In India, everything eventually falls under the purview of the IAS. The access and privileges an IAS officer receives upon entry—from Republic Day ‘passes’ and invitations to ‘at-home’ events at the Rashtrapati Bhawan to ‘VIP parking’ labels at any airport in India—remain elusive even to the most senior functionaries of other branches of our government. This is how our system is disposed!
Returning to the issue at hand and considering the fact that all the IAS-controlled activities and public resources and national wealth, indicatively enumerated above, have now come to unprecedented and hitherto inexperienced exposure to private investment, partnership, and ensuing private money and private interests. This is where our system needs to realise that guards and checks must be proportionately raised rather than lowered. We must ensure a robust system of discipline, integrity, and probity of a higher order for those who are vested with higher powers rather than whipping the lowly and insignificant departments and cadres.
The lax vigilance machinery in such a scenario, coupled with tremendous discretionary powers and immunities from the proverbial ‘day one’ in the IAS, is thus part of the problem and not the case otherwise.
The IAS often seek authority and discretionary powers under the guise of protecting lofty objectives, successfully safeguarding their ‘turf’. In reality, they constitute a class that enjoys unparalleled career opportunities, extensive contacts, discretionary powers, and virtual immunity from accountability for acts of omission and commission. The result is that a significant number of IAS officers today exhibit deviant behaviour.
The data shows this, even when we have a partisan and overwhelmingly IAS-controlled self-serving system. The number of IAS officers facing vigilance, CBI, and disciplinary actions is currently the highest among all civil services in India. The prevailing view is that routine transgressions go unpunished. Resultantly, all this is causing a huge loss to the nation, eroding our public wealth, and of course, producing Khedkars and millions of ‘aspirant-Khedkars’ by implication.
People are leaving their well-paid MNC jobs, returning from Western countries, putting their prime and youth at stake, and giving multiple attempts – of course, some of them faking names and numbers of allowable attempts, as our ‘personae dramatis’ Puja Khedkar did – all to get into the IAS, and only the IAS! While we allegedly have ‘more corrupt’ services where people allegedly make millions, people refuse to believe anything and keep queuing up at the proverbial gates of the IAS! Is this a case of deflection tactic not working?
The already extensive domain and powers of the IAS are further sweetened by provisions for fast-tracked and almost assured career progression, preferential housing allotments, foreign postings and travel opportunities, soft loans, and plots of prime land at throwaway prices in “cooperative societies.” The ‘freedoms’ and ‘securities’ of the IAS are further strengthened by a near-absence of proactive vigilance and a negligible ‘follow-up vigilance’ system. All these factors, taken together, explain why ‘Papa Khedkar’ supposedly did what he did for his child.
Ironically, while everyone is fixated on Puja Khedkar, no one is focusing on ‘Papa Khedkar,’ who has already had his turn! This makes the job of IAS apologists easy; the root cause of the problem remains unaddressed, and we wait for another Khedkar baby to surface or for some other story to fill the airwaves and print space. Life goes on. The IAS thrives within the minute nuances of existing—and absent—rules.
The laxity of the rules for the IAS, their unfettered discretionary powers, and the virtual absence of accountability enjoyed by them need to be revisited immediately. Most importantly, the job of reform shouldn’t be left to the IAS itself. Our system has many limbs, and one can be used to balance and counterweight the other. Hopefully, someday better judgement will prevail, our political executives will understand, and a call will be taken on this much-needed reform.
The Khedkars are facing the consequences of their actions, but the real worry remains: will the system that allowed them to flourish — the very system that churns out countless others like them — escape unscathed, with its flaws unexamined and unchanged?
The author is a Cornell University graduate in public affairs, bachelors from St Stephen’s College, Delhi and has done his PhD on Jaish-e-Mohammad. He is a policy analyst specialising in counterterrorism, Indian foreign policy and Afghanistan-Pakistan geopolitics. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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