From Squalor to Splendour

From Squalor to Splendour

May 2024

From Squalor to Splendour : Reviving Puducherry

An inspiring tale of a feisty woman’s fight to clean up a decaying city.  Shivi Verma interviews Kiran Bedi,  the formidable former IPS officer,  who leaves an indelible impression  wherever she goes 

A few days ago, my chairman shared with  e a video clip where Mrs Kiran Bedi,  former lieutenant governor (LG) of  Puducherry, Magsaysay awardee, and India’s  first and most famous woman IPS officer,  could be seen waving from the balcony of an  imposing-looking building to two sanitation  workers standing on the streets. It was a  throwback video from 2021 when Kiran was  the LG of Puducherry. As a mark of their love  and fondness for her, the two ladies had come  to say farewell to Kiran when she was leaving  Puducherry.  

Chairman Aditya Ahluwalia wanted me to speak  to Kiranji and discover the background story of  that video. I spoke to her on the phone, and she  said that it was a highly positive and inspiring  story of an administrator’s drive to clean up a  dirty city and how she overcame the hurdles to  achieve her goal. She asked me if I would like  to meet her at her office to know the full story. 

Meeting someone like Kiranji is a privilege, so  I agreed to see her at her office in New Delhi.  I was impressed by the power, conviction, and  determination she exuded. She came across as  someone whose heart is full of compassion and  who is driven by the zeal to engender positive  change in society. She was warm, affectionate,  and highly energetic. Someone who doesn’t  know how to give up and has nurtured the  habit of winning against the odds. I asked her  to shed some light on her relationship with the  sanitation workers in the video and the story  behind it. Kiranji said that when she was appointed as the  Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry in 2016,  she was dismayed at the filth and degradation  overwhelming the union territory. The women  waving to her were part of the sanitation workers  group she had developed a warm relationship  with, in her efforts to clean up the city. She says,  “I used to stop my car, greet them, and gift them  shawls and stoles. I would drape them around  their shoulders and make them feel valued for  doing what I couldn’t do—cleaning the city day  and night. So, when my tenure ended in 2021,  the women workers had come to Raj Niwas to  bid me adieu. The video is of that moment. I felt  that the work that happened during my time as  the LG of Puducherry was a hallmark of what  is possible if you decide to make a difference.  When I left Puducherry in 2021, it had emerged  as the best-governed union territory in the sixth  edition of the Public Affairs Trust.” 

What followed was a passionate interview with  the dynamic administrator who scripted a saga  of wringing positive changes through her grit  and never-say-die attitude. 

How did you manage to achieve the goal of  cleaning up Puducherry? 

When you are sent as an administrator and the  lieutenant governor, it is all about who you are  as a person. Are you comfortable with what you  have, or do you wish to see an improvement?  I am a person who is not comfortable when  things are not right. So when I went there, the  first thing I wanted to know was the state of  affairs in Puducherry. My purpose was not to  enjoy the trappings of the office but to work.  I love work. Work is energy for me. I look for  my energy places. So I began to travel the city.  I saw filth, dirt, and garbage all around me. I  felt that I could not sit in a clean Raj Niwas  while the citizens lived in squalor and dirt. I  would rather have a dirty Raj Niwas than dirty  streets. So that became my immediate priority  from the first week itself. I went to the main  canal, which is the Grand Canal in Puducherry,  and I found it rotting and stinking. It was as  though I was living close to the Grand Canal  and smelling the stench every day.

Mrs Kiran Bedi inspecting the decay that had set in Puducherry 

I embraced the cause fervently because I simply  cannot tolerate uncleanliness. By nature, I am  very organised, clean, and tidy. How could I  live comfortably in a dirty city? A city whose  responsibility I was entrusted with? I refused  to accept it. But the question was, How do I  get it cleaned up? When the sanitation workers  realised that the LG had inspected the canal,  they felt embarrassed and began to clean it. 

Did you create a plan of action or were the  visits sufficient? 

See the next question that came to my mind  was, What should I do with them? Should I  punish them, or should I ask for a report? And  the report was nothing but one more paper—as  if the problem was not known! Does it solve the  problem of stench that was reaching even the  Raj Niwas? 

I felt guilty about enjoying luxuries when my  neighbours lived in filth. And now I had the  power to change it. But what kind of power did  I have? I was an appointed LG, not an elected  MLA. An elected politician can order municipal  workers and government officials to do their  work. But I had to work through obstacles  like hierarchy, the public works department,  secretaries, the municipal commissioner, and  the deputy commissioner. On top of it, I had  no friends I could pour my heart out to because  I did not know Tamil, and all were Tamilians  there. The officers knew English, but they  did not know me and I didn’t know them. No  Delhiite, Punjabi, or North Indian, whom I  could confide in, was around. I was angry over  the state of affairs, and I leveraged this anger  on social media. I clicked pictures of the rotting  and stinking canal, and put them up on Twitter.  I created a WhatsApp group and added all the  municipal officers, secretaries, and engineers to  it. I shared the images of dirt and garbage strewn  around and asked, Are we happy to see this?  Friends, are you okay with this? It was the first  time the officers were together on a WhatsApp  group. This was breaking hierarchies. The chief  secretary, secretaries, and junior engineers all  came together. They felt embarrassed and had  to admit that the problem needed a solution. I  sometimes used to tweet about it. Since I had  eight to nine million followers, it created much  embarrassment for the administrators. It also  created a lot of envy and discomfort amongst  politicians. The problem also reached the government  of India because even the PMO followed my  Twitter (now X) handle. 

These actions must have expedited the  process of cleaning the city, I suppose? On the contrary, I began to face a lot of  opposition from those in power. In the  WhatsApp group, the chief secretary began to  feel slighted because it was his job to fulfil, in  the first place. I wasn’t asking anyone to explain  the sad situation. I was asking them to see it  and move their conscience. Can you stay like  that? Do you like what you see? The chief  secretary left the group, and he encouraged  others to leave too. Many left despite my being  the LG and the group administrator. I said, Jao.  Koi baat nahi. (Leave the group. No problem.)  

Many juniors told me separately that ma’am we  will be with you one-on-one, but don’t mind us  quitting the group because the chief secretary  is watching us. 

I said it doesn’t matter. I kept going to sites, and  the juniors would accompany me as they were  duty-bound to be there. The seniors, however  defied and decided not to join me. I asked the  politicians to join me, but they too refused  to come. However, the junior engineers kept  coming with me. The work, basically, had to be  done by them, so it started to gain momentum. I  began to post the updates on the cleaning drive  on social media, and the local media began  to take note and, subsequently, published the  story. People started to read and appreciate our  efforts. 

But where do the sanitation workers and your  warm relationship with them come into the  picture? 

Kiranji picking up the cudgels to revive the dying water bodies of Puducherry

The main sanitation workers were 1500 very  unhappy women. They were cleaning the  streets twice every day, morning and evening.  They were hired on contract by the government  in power before the current government, which  was unhappy with the heavy financial contract.  The current government wanted to change it,  but they could not dismiss it because it was a  10-year contract. They were unable to get their  cuts from the financial contract and bring  in a new one which benefitted them. So they  dragged the sanitation workers to court. They  accused them of not working, not showing up,  and marking false attendance, and stopped  their salaries on flimsy grounds. As a result, the  sanitation workers threatened they wouldn’t  clean the city if they were not paid their wages. 

So, on the one hand, I was trying to clean up  the city, and on the other hand, it was getting  difficult to get workers to come to work as they  were not getting paid. In the initial months, I  had a confrontation with the authorities and  asked people if they wanted a clean city or  not. Because if I did not get the support of the  masses in this drive, I would return home in  three months. I would not preside over a dirt  city. I had not come here to fail.  

And then it shook them up. Somehow, I had  the salaries of the sanitation workers released  and prevented a strike. Meanwhile, I was able  to win the hearts and minds of my sanitation  workers. Whenever I would meet them, I would  gift them colourful shawls and stoles. All the  shawls I used to receive in Raj Niwas would be  given by me to them. Why? Because they did  something which I couldn’t do. They loved the  fact that I would stop my car, get out of it, and  place shawls on their shoulders as a mark of  respect. They felt so valued and respected. 

Kiran Bedi with her book : FEARLESS GOVERNANCE

Now they were working for me and with me. They  cleaned better, and their attendance improved.  Their supervisors worked better. They realised  that I was with them even if the politicians were  not. Somehow, day after day, week after week,  inch by inch, street by street, things began  to get better, and cleanliness started getting  implemented. Public opinion began to turn in  our favour; the media began to acknowledge our  efforts and reported that the LG was cleaning  Puducherry. 

I used to stroll the beach, and when the workers  saw that I visited the beaches too, they began  to clean it up. When people walked on the  beaches, they saw that there were no flies or  mosquitoes around. The sanitation workers got  recognition, and the public began to appreciate  our efforts. The city acquired a new, fresh look.  The winds began to change. We carried out  swachchhata campaigns. We would wear gloves,  ride bicycles, take school and college kids along,  and clean the beaches to spread the message of  cleanliness. I invited the politicians too to join  me and take the credit for the cleanliness, but  they didn’t turn up. Their egos came in the way  because showing up with me would have been  the admission of past failure and neglect. By the  time I left, the city was much more organised  and clean. The beaches were totally clean. 

How did you manage to penetrate the thick  wall of political and bureaucratic non cooperation? 

I have this indomitable will to never give  up. That is my character trait. I don’t care.  I am not giving up, because I am doing  the right thing. If I don’t do my duty, I fail  myself. I am not doing it for you. I am doing  it because I don’t want to fail. I grew up  with willpower, and that willpower stood  by me. I get motivated by good causes, and  cleaning up Puducherry was a noble cause  for me. 

Did you not think of contesting elections  since you were so popular? 

I do not like asking for anything in return.  Politics is transactional. You give me your  vote, I will change your life. What is so  remarkable about this deal? When I do  something for you, it has to be selfless. I do  it because of my love for you. 

After my tenure was over, I got involved  with reading, attending seminars, holding  meetings, and giving talks and lectures. I  like to solve problems and motivate people.  My diary is always full, and I study before  giving talks, interviews, and speeches. 

I also feel that Life Positive is doing  yeoman’s service in spreading goodness  and positivity in society. I preserve every  issue of the magazine because its articles  have a long shelf life. They motivate people  to convert the negative into the positive.