Last week I met a man who to me personified the ugly Indian bureaucrat. I met him at the India Today conclave. A nondescript little man whom I might have walked past, had he not reminded me that we had met before when he was head of the New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC) and I came to his office in ‘attacking’ mode.

I remembered. I went to see him to try and prevent the NDMC from building illegal housing for its officials in the street in which I live. Jagmohan was minister of urban development at the time and I took with me a letter from him confirming that the proposed construction was a violation of Delhi’s master plan. When I reminded the retired official about this, he said, ‘Jagmohan is a fool. I have never done anything illegal in my life.’

‘Oh yes, you have, sir,’ said I, because I went to court against the NDMC’s construction activities and won my case. To this, the official, a belligerent little man, said, ‘Everyone knows the judges are all corrupt. I come from a judicial family and I know.’ In his eyes, everyone in government was corrupt, stupid and inefficient except he himself. Despite his boring self-importance, I continued the conversation, pointing out that the ugly buildings the NDMC has built for its officials sit on land that is worth more than Rs 100 crore an acre. Would it not have been better if the municipality had sold the land or built luxury apartments to sell for a profit. At this, the ex-bureaucrat got a nasty look on his face and snarled, ‘You know what your problem is? You don’t want the hoi polloi living next door to you.’ True. Who does?

... contd.