NAVY FOUNDATION PUNE – The “Alumni Association” for Navy Veterans in Pune

NAVY FOUNDATION PUNE 

The “Alumni Association” for Navy Veterans in Pune

By

VIKRAM KARVE

If you are a Naval Officer, after retirement, it is best to settle down in Mumbai, which is the premier Navy Station, or in a coastal city like Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Kochi, Chennai, Kolkata, Goa etc where there is a naval presence, or even in Delhi/NCR where the mighty “Northern Naval Command” is located.

This is because if you settle down in a landlocked place like Pune after you retire from the Navy, you tend to “burn your bridges” with your erstwhile service.

The only redeeming grace is the Indian Navy Foundation – a purely social organization set up to facilitate fraternal relations between retired naval officers.

Luckily, the Navy Foundation has a “chapter” (aka “charter”) at Pune.

Membership is voluntary – and I am glad I became a member, because the quarterly Navy Foundation Pune Chapter (NFPC) meetings are the best occasions for meeting and renewing bonds with my former navy buddies.

Whenever I go for these NFPC get-togethers I feel something like a “Yossarian” of Catch-22 who is one of the most frequent visitors to the officers’ club that he had not help build.

I am sure you have read Catch-22.

Let me “jog” your memory about this hilarious yet insightful episode about Yossarian and the Officers’ Club in Pianosa.

In something akin to “Shramdan” (familiar to those who have served in our military), officers are encouraged to build their own clubs.

However, Yossarian, who is proud of his ability to avoid work, contributes nothing to help build the club – he does not go for even a single day to work on building the officers’ club.

But once the officers’ club is ready, Yossarian visits the club almost every day and makes maximum use of the facilities, which he had not helped build.

Let me quote a paragraph from Catch-22 which encapsulates this sentiment (emphasis mine):

“Actually there were many officers’ clubs that Yossarian had not helped build, but he was proudest of the one on Pianosa. It was a sturdy and complex monument to his powers of determination. Yossarian never went there to help until it was finished; then he went there often, so pleased was he with the large, fine, rambling shingled building. It was a truly splendid building, and Yossarian throbbed with a mighty sense of accomplishment each time he gazed at it and reflected that none of the work that had gone into it was his.”

For me, it is a similar equation with the NFPC – effort-wise, I contribute nothing, but I participate in all get-togethers most enthusiastically.

Last Sunday, on the 28^th of September 2014, we had a memorable NFPC get-together in Lonavala – a wonderful day – like a picnic – a nostalgic walk down memory lane for many navy veterans who reminisced about their halcyon training days at this picturesque location.

The distinctive naval efficiency, superlative hospitality and caring courtesy shown to us during the visit demonstrated how much young naval officers and sailors genuinely care for its veterans.

When I was in service, I remember us hosting a get-together of Navy Foundation at IAT Pune at the Naval Jetty (Sailing Club), sometime in the 1990’s.

Now, the favourite venue for NFPC Meets is Atlantis

There is no Navy Wardroom (Officers Mess) or Navy Institute in Pune.

And, in the past, officer-bearers of NFPC have had harrowing experiences running from pillar to post trying to negotiate the red tape while dealing with the Army to get other Military Venues for NFPC Meets.

So, thanks to “jointmanship” demonstrated by the “pongos”, now, all Navy Foundation Meetings in Pune are held at ATLANTIS, which is much more convenient and flexible, with zero red tape, and better off in all respects, especially food-wise and ambience-wise.

The best thing about these Navy Veteran Meets is the egalitarian atmosphere, bereft of the rank consciousness one sees while in service, since after retirement, all veterans are civilians, equal in status, and now, instead of rank, it is age that is respected.

As I said earlier, after retirement, our only connection with the Navy is the Navy Foundation, and veterans look forward to NFPC meetings where you can bond, interact and network with your erstwhile navy buddies while regaling each other with delightful anecdotes of the “good old days”.

So now, we Navy Veterans of Pune look forward to the next Navy Foundation Pune Chapter Lunch Meet on Sunday the 7^th of December 2014 at Atlantis.

If you are an Indian Navy Veteran, in or around Pune – be there.

VIKRAM KARVE

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FORMULA FOR CORRUPTION : C = M + D – A

FORMULA FOR CORRUPTION

This morning while browsing through my old diaries I chanced upon something interesting – a formula for corruption told to me by one of my colleagues which I had jotted down.

Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion – Accountability

Or simply put:

C = M + D – A

where

Corruption (C) equals Monopoly Power (M) plus Discretionary Power (D) minus Accountability (A).

Do have a look around and see whether this formula is accurate or do you see that there are other factors too.

AM I A VICTIM OF DEEMED CORRUPTION ?

AM I A VICTIM OF DEEMED CORRUPTION ?


This morning while discussing recent events pertaining to Anna Hazare’s Anti-Corruption Movement, the Lokpal Bill and current events, someone mentioned the term “Deemed Corruption”. He said that if a government servant delays the work of a citizen beyond a reasonable time then that government servant will be deemed to be corrupt and it will be a case of deemed corruption. After hearing this, I thought of a recent problem which is happening to me and I wonder whether I am unwittingly a victim of deemed corruption. 


When I was in the navy we were required to be prompt in the performance of our duties, but unfortunately the same promptness was not shown towards us by various civilian “babus” especially those in accounts offices. And now, for no fault of mine, I am facing a problem after my retirement too, owing to the indifferent attitude of the lower bureaucracy. I retired almost one year ago but even till today a part of my retirement benefits have been withheld because of gross inefficiency on the part of a nameless faceless clerk. Let me tell you about it.


Our Accounts Office withheld a substantial amount from my retirement benefits for adjustments towards house rent since my original rent bills were not received by them from the MES (Military Engineering Service) from the year 2008 onwards despite reminders. (I had no role to play in this - the MES is required to directly send the bills to our Accounts Office promptly in a time bound manner). Of course, my pay office had been deducting provisional house rent every month from my salary but they said they had to reconcile with the original rent bills, adjust plus or minus, get it audited, and only then could they release the money due to me.


I occupied those government quarters in 2008 and vacated them in 2010. Monthly provisional rent has been regularly recovered from me. The biggest joke is that the MES has issued me a Final Clearance Certificate and a Final No Demand Certificate when I vacated the house. These certificates have been sent to the Accounts Office. But all this is of no use as they want the original rent bills from the MES and there is nothing I can do about it except write reminders and wait patiently.


Someone told me that as per norms the MES is required to send rent bills to the accounts office every quarter (within three months) but in this case the work has been delayed by over four years by some clerk in the MES and I am the loser for no fault of mine. There is no effective grievance redressal machinery to whom I can complain. All that is happening is that there is ever-increasing correspondence as letters and reminders are being exchanged between various agencies but nothing seems to move the mighty clerks of the MES.


I wonder whether this inordinate delay is due to inefficiency or is it a case of deemed corruption?


Is it possible that my work is being purposely delayed because I did not pay the required “mamool” or speed money? Frankly I don’t know whether I have to pay a bribe to the MES clerks in order to get this routine work done – I have never done so before and I am not going to do so now.


This case shows that how the clerks of the lower bureaucracy are supreme. They have no accountability and seem to be invulnerable. No one is held responsible for such delays and for non-performance of their duties. I am sure many such cases of “deemed corruption” are happening everywhere and common citizens are suffering for no fault of theirs as their work is inordinately delayed by lower bureaucracy.


Anna Hazare is right. Whereas Grand Corruption and Multi-Crore Scams grab the headlines and this may be important at the macro level as it affects the nation, at the micro level, it is petty corruption by the lower bureaucracy which is troubling the common citizen. It will be a great relief to the common man if the chronic problem of omnipresent all-pervading petty corruption can be addressed effectively.


I wish the government enacts a strong and effective Lokpal Bill which brings the lower bureaucracy under its purview, specifies a time bound Citizens Charter, implements and puts in place an effective, prompt, easy to use, e-governance style IT Based online Grievance Redressal Mechanism and, most importantly, incorporates the concept of deemed corruption and stipulates severe punishment and heavy penalties for those indulging in deemed corruption and harassing the common citizen. This will surely help alleviate the distress caused to the common citizen.


PS - As far as my case is concerned, I don't know what to do. Any suggestions on how to solve my problem?