A Day Out with an MLA!

25th November 2015

On the auspicious day of Kartik Poornima, we got an opportunity to interact with a young, dynamic, honest and candid MLA of Khandapada - Anubhav Patnaik. He got elected to Odisha Legislative Assembly in 2014 elections, and represents the ruling party - BJD. We followed him in our college bus to two functions where he inaugurated two new temples built in a thousands of year old temple – Nilmadhab Temple. We followed him in our university bus and were amazed to see how he manages his time - he had 25 appointments on a single day, that too when it was a holiday! Following him since the morning, we got to interact with him in one of his local party worker meet in late afternoon.

Following are some excerpts from our conversation with him.

Q.1 How important is the role of an MLA in resolving people's grievances?

A.1 MLAs are the face of the government for the people. Major part of my day is spent in listening to their problems and immediately corresponding with the local bureaucracy. MLAs are facilitators in the trickling down of govt schemes till the ground level. Recently the implementation of the Right to Food Act is facing a lot of problems since due errors of the field staff many eligible people have been devoid of the benefit. This is making news everyday in some or the other part of Odisha. I have been continuously overseeing the implementation of the scheme so that the intended benefits reach the people.

Q.2 How do you manage your legislative and your constituency-related work?

A.2 Legislation-related work is done by us only when the assembly is in session. On normal days, majority of time is spent in touring the constituency, attending public functions and listening to people's problems. This is because for us to get re-elected, people are not going to look at what laws are passed, even though legislations really matter in the long run. But for people their shelter, health, children, food, pension matters much more. How accessible and visible the MLA is in the constituency matters much more than his participation in the assembly debates.

Q.3 What is your vision related to your constituency?

A.3 My focus is on improving the economy of the constituency, since growth of other sectors is dependent on it. Kendrapada has 8-9 major tourist spots and we also have a well-connected road network. Proximity to Bhubaneswar is one of the key factors that can spurt the growth of tourism here. There is also a lot of scope of religious tourism as major spots related to Lord Jagganath are located here. 

I also plan to build a lot of embankments here as Mahanadi floods the fields mostly. I am also focussing on alternative forms of agriculture since that mine is a rural constituency.

Q.4 MLAs have a vision about their constituency but the administrative setup of the system devoids them of any bureaucracy of their own to serve them exclusively. What all options are available to put the vision into action?

A.4 A lot of needs of the people of the constituency are covered by the schemes of the Central and the State Government - herein the MLA plays the role of a facilitator, making sure schemes reaches the people and that grievances reach the bureaucracy. However for projects beyond the specified schemes, one would have to present to the concerned Secretary, or the Minister that the proposed projects have value\are needed. MLAs also go to the Chief Minister who is the key and the final decision maker. A lot of MLA-proposed development projects get passed, however taking into account the policy priorities.

MLAs also pool in resources, reach out to, and engage with NGOs, CSR, and International Organisations. If the constituency has the basic infrastructure, manpower and the required skills, it is possible to bring in corporate to invest. It also depends on how well the MLA is able to put his case forward and project the untapped potential of his constituency. Here in Kendrapada we are working in association with Tata Trust in various fields.

Q.5 Sir, people look upto MLAs and MPs as to someone who will solve all their problems. But many problems are to be dealt at the national\state level for which an MLA would have his limitations. How do you deal with people's expectations in such cases?

A.5 Very true! People look upto MLAs as super humans. We are also very impatient; we want our representatives to perform as soon as possible. Grievance handling is one of the major jobs of an MLA. One should have the power to absorb. You can’t shout back on people. Like in the Samudra Manthan Lord Maheshwara drank the poison, its very similar to that. One has to be an amazing, patient listener. 90% of the problems which people get to me are not solved, only 10% are solved. But the more important part is whether the MLA is able to listen and understand properly the grievance of the people.

Q.6 Suppose all MLAs reach the Secretariat demanding constituency-specific allocations, how are things worked out in that case?

A.6 Policy priorities play a very significant role and not always things are moulded according to the political considerations, or demands of the legislators. Yet my experience says Building a repo with the concerned Secretary and the Minister is very essential. I meet the relevant Ministers at least 10 times a month. Personal relationships matter a lot in getting things done.

Q.7 Please tell something about the innovative initiative of "Child Gram Sabhas".

A.7 Started in collaboration with UNICEF, Child Gram Sabhas is an initiative wherein we have Gram Sabhas of children and elected representatives, and children directly share their problems with them, who take it to the Government. Ours will be the first "child-friendly constituency" in the country!

Q.8 Your message for aspiring politicians?

A.8 Be a man of vision. Be very clear about the role you want to play at the Panchayat\Block\Constituency level and accordingly see where you want to reach. People need to look upto you, repose in you as someone who can solve their problems. As I said ultimately only a limited problems are solved, but the confidence one's personality evokes in people is very important.