"The government has ordered the removal of all structures constructed on water bodies. I am an official obliged to execute the orders of the government" said Selvanathan, the government official.
"You have provided them accommodation at a place about forty kilometers from here. How will these people commute to the city for their work, from such a far off place?"
"The government can provide accommodation only in a place where there is government land. I have forwarded your request to my higher officials. The Secretary has assured me me that he would check whether the government could find land at some other place. Wait for a week. A satisfactory solution to the problem may be found."
"Sir! There are only two hundred huts here. Can you not recommend to the government to permit the people living in them to continue to live in this place?" pleaded Purushothaman.
"I can't recommend a course that is not lawful. Even if I do, the government won't consider it" said Selvanathan, firmly.
After Purushothaman had left, the junior official, who was in Selvanathan's room asked him, "Sir! Has the Secretary told you that he would consider locating the hut-dwellers in a better place?"
"No, he didn't. But, I have an idea" said Selvanathan, smiling.
"Sir! Our application for approval of building construction is still pending" said Kishore, the Public Relations Officer of Kuber Industries
"You have constructed the building without first seeking approval from the government. Now, you want us to regularize the construction. How can we approve this?" asked Selvanathan.
"Sir! It is only an extension of the existing factory building. Since we needed space urgently to house the new machines bought by us, we did the construction, in anticipation of approval from the government. The construction has been made as per the rules and the norms. The government, in the past, has given approval for such actions to some companies."
"Well. If you believe that you are entitled to get the government approval, then you can approach the courts and get a court order directing the government to give you approval!" said Selvanathan.
"Pardon me. sir. I didn't mean to say that we are entitled to get the approval. We are only making a request for approval" said Kishore, upset by Selvanathan's blunt reply.
"Giving approval to a building constructed without seeking prior approval from the government is as per the discretion of the government. If your building plans, structures etc. are as per government rules and norms as claimed by you, I may recommend your case for approval. But, it is up to the government to decide on giving the approval."
"Please send the file to the Secretariat with your recommendations. We will follow up with the Secretariat and get the approval" said Kishore, feeling relieved.
"I can do that. But there are some issues relating to your company, about which I have to mention in my recommendation."
"What issues, sir?"
"We allocated land to you in Porur, for construction of houses for your employees. But, you have not utilized that land. It still remains a vacant land."
"We will construct, sir. But, it will take some time."
"I think you may not be constructing the houses at all. Your employees commute from various parts of the city. They don't prefer to live in Porur. Your employees' union has suggested to you that instead of constructing houses for the employees, the company pay them house rent allowance and transport allowance to cover their commuting expenses. You have also accepted that suggestion and signed an agreement to this effect with the union. Am I right?"
"Yes, sir. But how did you...?"
"The government knows every thing, Mr. Kishore. The agreement you have entered into with the union has been filed with the Labour department, which is another wing of the government!"
Kishore remained silent, not knowing what to say.
"Since you are not going to use that land for the purpose for which it was allocated to you, I suggest that you surrender it to the government. We sold the land to you at a concessional price. We will buy it back from you at the same price. Even if you don't surrender the land voluntarily, the government can take back the land any time, since you have not made use of it for the declared purpose, within a reasonable time. If we take back the land, by issuing an order, you may not even get any compensation from the government. But, if you surrender the land now, it will strengthen your application for building approval" said Selvanathan.
"I will discuss this with our Managing Director and get back to you" said Kishore and took leave of Selvanathan.
After Kishore had left, the junior official asked Selvanathan, in surprise. "Sir! The government has not asked about the unutilized land!"
"No one at the higher levels of the government might have thought about it. We are also part of the government. So, we also have responsibility! Doing only what our higher officials ask us to do is a reactive approach. Our higher officials asked us to remove the huts in Porur and we set to do accordingly. But when I empathized with the problems of the people getting relocated and thought how we could help them, I remembered about this land lying vacant for several years. It is not right on the part of Kuber Industries to keep the land allocated to them unutilized. If we make them agree to surrender that land and then recommend to the government to use that land for relocating the hut-dwellers being displaced, the government will definitely agree. In fact, the government will use this opportunity to claim that it has acted in the interests of the hut-dwellers and try to earn some credit! As far we are concerned, we can feel satisfied that we performed our duty correctly, while also adopting a humanitarian approach!" said Selvanathan.
"I have a lot of things to learn from you, sir!" said the junior official, with excitement.
urimai udaiththu ivvulagu..
Verse 577
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