Bengaluru:
His juniors and contemporaries are in awe of his astounding memory, smooth administration, technical expertise and his apolitical stand in a state that has seen many political ups and downs. What makes his achievement more commendable is the fact that this man has the rare distinction of serving eight chief ministers.
On Tuesday, when the Karnataka Secretariat Employees’ Association hosted a farewell for outgoing chief secretary S.V. Ranganath, a 1975 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, he in all humility attributed his success to his colleagues and their unflinching support.
“The day I took charge as chief secretary, the North Karnataka region received 40 cm rainfall causing heavy floods. Over the last 38 years, I have faced several challenges – from natural calamities like floods and drought, elections, the mining row to implementation of Sakaala. I could succeed only because of the love and support of my colleagues, who always went beyond the call of duty,” said Ranganath, who is due to retire on October 31.
The outgoing chief secretary made an appeal to his colleagues too. “A government earns a good name only when everyone in the system is on the same page. I am sure at least 90 per cent of government servants work hard and with honesty. But only 50 per cent taste success and this comes when the person has the co-operation of his colleagues,” said Ranganath, who also shared his secret mantra to success.
“When senior officers come to me asking how to become successful and get recognition, I tell them the story of a little boy in New York (narrated in a book, ‘36 tips for Management’ by Swanson) who walked into a icecream parlour with some change and asks the waiter how much a triple ice candy would cost. When the waiter impatiently tells him it would cost one dollar and 50 cents, the boy, after much thought, settles for a single candy costing one dollar and leaves behind a tip of 50 cents for the waiter.
This leaves the waiter in tears. It shows how important it is to worry about the other person. People come to government servants with problems, we are here to serve them,” said Ranganath, who urged his colleagues to extend the same support to his successor, Kaushik Mukherjee.
Earlier, Mukherjee who addressed Ranganath as a “good friend” and an “able administrator” admired his impeccable memory, commitment to work and his decision-making abilities.
“We will miss him even more when we start realizing how well he managed the administrative equilibrium,”said Mukherjee.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / October 30th, 2013