UPSC Ethics Simplified | A Civil Servant’s dilemma in tackling air pollution in National Capital Region — the caselet

The Caselet

Samvedan was very upset. He was known for his decision-making ability and administrative acumen. He got to know that XYZ has instructed all district officers to ensure that there should be no stubble or any kind of burning of waste in the capital as well as the whole area of NCR. However, when he was returning one night he found several poor people burning wood as well as other garbage to survive in the winter.

He asked the people, “Why are you all burning tires and wood and polluting the environment? Now there is an order and the administration will have to stop you from doing this. Have you all understood?” One of them replied, “You are Bade Sahab!! Sir, what about us? Where should we go? We don’t have warm clothes, or blankets to protect us from this bitter cold. What to do sir? We will die if you stop us from burning wood and other things.”

Without saying further Samvedan returned. The next day his subordinate said, “Sir, tomorrow is the deadline to comply with the order. We will have to remove them. But we all know that on cold winter nights or even in the mornings, poor people on the streets choose to burn papers or even wood to survive the bitter cold.”

Post-Read Question:

If you were at Samvedan’s place and as an officer, while patrolling on a very cold night on the roads of NCR, found people burning rubber tyres and other substances (which can cause pollution) to keep themselves warm, what would you do?

Ethicist view:

Here Samvedan’s dilemma is whether to follow the order or to allow those poor people to carry that act for keeping themselves warm during the night. There can be two courses of action. First, do not allow substances that can cause pollution to be burnt by poor people. Second, to find out some solution so that the people can remain warm in the chilling winters.

It will be wise to make a decision keeping the utility factor in mind. Self-awareness of the issue applied to maximise happiness among poor people might help. Indeed, he can not ignore the order but he must put himself in that situation and try to apply the principles of the Categorical Imperative. Providing them with blankets can be a temporary arrangement. But he needs to look for a more sustainable solution that will save the lives of many people. Ultimately, it is not just happiness but maximising happiness which is the need of the hour. Moreover, maximising happiness is equally a part of administrative deliverables rather than only finding answers through compliance. Don’t you think so? If yes, how would you act?

(The writer is the author of ‘Being Good and Aaiye, Insaan Banaen’, ‘Ethikos: Stories Searching Happiness’ and ‘Kyon’. He teaches courses on and offers training in ethics, values and behaviour. He has been the expert/consultant to UPSC, SAARC countries, Civil services Academy, National Centre for Good Governance, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI), etc. He has PhD in two disciplines and has been a Doctoral Fellow in Gandhian Studies from ICSSR. His second PhD is from IIT Delhi on Ethical Decision Making among Indian Bureaucrats. He writes for the UPSC Ethics Simplified (concepts and caselets) fortnightly.)