Mundhe has been criticised by sections of the food and hospitality industry over his enforcement drives. He has rejected allegations of selective or unlawful action, saying inspections are evidence-driven and licences are suspended only in serious cases.
Batth, too, has faced flak for acting against illegal encroachments, with critics alleging his enforcement is selective and disproportionately affects vulnerable people. In several viral videos, he has said his actions are carried out strictly under town-planning rules.
Jaswal explains a street vendor’s stall may be an unauthorised structure in the eyes of the law, but could be a family’s only source of income. And in a country where millions migrate to cities in search of work, unsanctioned living spaces could be the only way to find a place to stay.
This tension between the law and economics helps explain why the same enforcement action can be viewed as both lawful and harsh.
Bureaucrats also face challenges of their own while carrying out their duties.
Pushpa Sundar, who briefly served as a civil servant and has written extensively on development issues, says officers can face political pressure and transfers when they refuse to comply with demands.
“They too have families, careers and financial responsibilities and it needs extraordinary courage to risk those things in order to act independently,” she says.
She argues that officers need stronger institutional support when they refuse to do something illegal or improper.
Jaswal remembers facing such pressure himself.
In 1974, when he was district magistrate of Uttarkashi in what was then undivided Uttar Pradesh, a senior minister was contesting the state legislature election.
He says he had to turn down a number of demands from the minister as they were against the rules. The minister won the election and Jaswal says he got his “marching orders soon after”.
But when he left for his next assignment, people stood in the summer heat for several kilometres on his way to say goodbye.
The relationship between politicians and civil servants, he says, is rarely straightforward.
Many civil servants who seek desirable postings or rely on political support choose the path of least resistance, while standing up to political pressure entails certain costs, he says.
