Visiting a district, decades later, opens up floodgates of memory. When I think of Kakinada, the district headquarters of the famous East Godavari district of undivided Andhra Pradesh, where I had served in 1979-81, certain images endure. What I remember vividly are not always related to what I was duty-bound to perform.

The first impressions of visiting Rangaraya Medical College and seeing the viscera of world-renowned biologist J.B.S. Haldane preserved in glass jars of the Pathology department; of addressing a gathering at Brahmopasana Mandir on the evolution of the Brahmo Samaj movement in which Kakinada and nearby Pithapuram played a significant role; of setting up the Kakinada Film Circle to introduce world-class movies to the local cineastes and celebrating twenty-five years of Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali; visiting a place in Kovvur, across the Godavari, hallowed by many Vaishnavites as where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had met Ray Ramananda (then Governor of the Gajapati empire) and converted him in 1512 A.D., and absorbing the impact of the great engineer Sir Arthur Cotton in making the Godavari delta prosperous.

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And interestingly, how Indira Gandhi after a whirlwind district tour on an election campaign was urging the accompanying Chief Minister Chenna Reddy, at a Rajahmundry guest house, to quickly get ready in order to reach the adjoining district at the earliest! Much water has since flown through the Godavari. The state has been bifurcated, and the number of districts has multiplied. Erstwhile East Godavari district has been divided into more than three, the boundaries largely coinciding with those of parliamentary constituencies. On the whole, this seems to be a good move – bringing people closer to seats of administration. Population has increased, so have aspirations for a better life. Use of technology and spread of social media have solved many problems, and have created many new. India has changed, the pace accelerated since the early 1990s with economic liberalization ushered in by the Narasimha Rao government.

Certain states like the present-day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were already prepared to take better advantage than many others. The signs of prosperity are evident everywhere. But nothing happens automatically. In this part of India, administration was well-respected, thanks to the iconic efforts of selfless civil servants like S.R. Sankaran (whose statue adorns the entrance to Kakinada collectorate), and visionary engineers like Arthur Cotton (whose statues have been erected by grateful people all over). Engineering and medical education, especially in the private sector, started spreading from the early 1980s.

Strong affirmative actions like reservation for the carefully identified weaker sections, irrespective of religion, and one-third horizontal reservation for women, have all gone a long way in making its society so veritably inclusive. The innovative welfare measures introduced by NTR including the Rs 2 per kg rice scheme empowered the poorer lot like never before. The state had long encouraged private sector participation, and Public-Private Partnership was never scoffed at. All these and other progressive measures of successive regimes unleashed the state’s potential, and have made its hardworking people shine with full colors.

Transformation of the Kakinada sea-port, primarily by private initiative, and the development of Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary that has 35 mangrove species and over 100 uncommon bird species and supposedly the second-largest stretch of mangrove forest in India, are among cases in point. How is the district administration coping with the new challenges? Evidently, reduction of geographical area of districts has not lessened their work load. Priorities have changed. Much of our time used to be spent on collection and settlement of land revenue, acquisition of land, attending to law-and-order issues often arising from land and water related disputes, appointment of village officers and distribution of government land to landless ones. Many of such activities have either been streamlined or abandoned altogether.

The famous Twenty Point Economic Programme, though pertinent at that time, has lost some of its relevance. Public awareness being heightened, district officers are being increasingly questioned for their actions. It is often convenient to approach the District Collector directly for redressal of grievances. Emergence of new development priorities apart, the need to ‘instantly’ respond to any crisis that gets flashed on TV and social media, is keeping the officials on their toes.

Response time for local administration has reduced substantially. With newer challenges demanding newer knowledge and skills to handle, and the fact that higher civil services have always attracted a fair share of the country’s best talent, the senior district officials, especially from the All-India Services, now have educational backgrounds substantially different from those who led the districts earlier. The Collector and District Magistrate at Kakinada is a product of BITS, Pilani and IIM, Ahmedabad; the Joint Collector an engineer from IIT, Delhi.

These are not exceptions. Their ability to quantify things and projectise issues, handle technology with ease, and address problems from a scientific angle is often refreshingly different. The recruits to higher civil services now faithfully reflect the diversity of the emergent India. It is largely owing to the efforts of dedicated district officials at every level – that things have been changing for the better, and the future bodes well. Despite the tireless work that the young officers put in, I guess they still find time to stare at their spouses.

(The writer is a retired IAS officer.)