Biography of Sri. Venkatesa Iyer - Part 2 (Official Career)

Today, on the occasion of Varalakshmi Vrata (see my post here) , I am posting the second part of Taatha's biography. The first part is posted here, and the concluding part (Spiritual Pursuits) will be posted shortly.


Note: Compiled primarily from the souvenir article "Official Career" written by Sri Iyer's cousin Sri. R.Ramanathan of Safilguda, with some inputs from the Memorial Trust booklet.

Some time  after his initial posting to Raichur, Sri Iyer was sent to Madras for training. He appeared in the SAS examination, which he passed with Ist class distinction, in the very first attempt in the first year, although the training was for 2 years. On return to Hyderabad, he was not promoted; although his juniors who did not pass SAS were all in higher posts. He appealed to the finance secretary Nawab Fakhr Yar Jung, who drew him to the finance department, and placed him as assistant secretary. He was then elevated as Dy. Secretary. Thereafter, he was posted as Dy. Chief Auditor for the Railways.

Tungabhadra Project Audit

Mr. Iyer prepared a document with details of payments to persons not connected with the project work, that included cash payments for the purchase of explosives, supplies of vehicles and other materials, to the Razakar movement that was against the Indian Union. This document was kept as secret for a long time. After protracted enquiry, this document was handed over to the Chief Civil Administrator. Sri Iyer was given necessary police protection, as his life was under threat.

Viceroy's Visit to Hyderabad 

 H.E.H the Nizam's government purchased 10 Pontaic cars costing Rs. 28,000/- each for the reception of H.E. the Viceroy and spent huge amounts on the occasion.  This audit was given to Sri. Iyer, who pointed out in his report that the cars had been taken by cabinet ministers at Rs. 500/- each and in the voucher shown as auction amount. The audit report was kept in abeyance and he punished by the way of non-promotion. Somehow, this came to be known by his H.E.H the Nizam, who ordered that the cars be recovered and sold on public action. They were each sold for Rs. 25,000/- and the amount remitted to the treasury, at considerable savings to the government.

Railway stations white-washing fraud

Locomotive in Secunderabad (Hyderabad state) 1928 (from wikipedia)

When Sri Iyer was Dy. Chief Auditor for the Railways, he detected a fraud of Rs. 7,00,000/- in the case of whitewashing of railway stations. He initially doubted the area of a particular station as cited, and obtained the original construction document, which confirmed that the area of the station had been fraudulently increased on paper. The contractor had been paid according to the standard measurement document, and the balance had been misappropriated by the assistant engineer (AE). This made him check other stations as well, and he detected an excess payment of Rs. 7 lakhs. The AE responsible for this immediately fled the country.

Selection for I.A and A.S cadre

After  police action and integration of Hyderbad with the Indian Union, the C.A.G sent  an ad-hoc committee for screening the officers of the state, about their suitability for I.A and A.S cadre and their promotion. The ad-hoc committee selected Sri Iyer, but only for the post of Asst. Officer, while his juniors were selected for higher posts. When the C.A.G visited Hyderabad, he protested  to his selection as Asst. Officer, and threatened to forego the I.A & A.S cadre. The mistake was rectified, and he was appointed as the Chief Accounts Officer (CAO) of the Industrial Trust Fund, a post created by Sri. N. Bilgrami, who had learnt accounts from Sri. Iyer, and  wanted to do this as 'Guru Dakshina'. Sri  Iyer held this post until his retirement.

Audit of Hatti Gold Mines

 Before 1931 there was no institute of Chartered Accounts in (British) India. The audit of accounts of public sector companies was conducted by the Industrial Trust Fund. The Industrial Development Department was created for the purpose of developing the following industries in the State of Hyderabad:

1. Singareni Collieries
2. Hatti Gold Mines
3. Nizam's Sugar Factory
4. Azam Jahi Mills
5. Sirpur Paper Mills
6. Sirsilk
7. Kothagudam Coal Mines

and several other small units. Sri Iyer, as previously mentioned, was the CAO of the Industrial Trust Fund that conducted the audit of these companies. The chief auditor (CA) in charge of Hatti Gold Mines was Sri Sambandamurthy. Being unable to properly read the balance sheet prepared by Sri Iyer, he approached the A.G for clarification. The AG  was also unable to clarify Sambandamurthy's doubt, and directed him to Sri. Iyer, who provided the necessary clarification. Glowing tributes were paid to Venkatesa Iyer by Sri Sambandamurthy, who also became the first "shishya" of Venkatesa Iyer on this subject.

Financial Integration between States and Centre after Independence

A team consisting of the then finance secretary Sri G. Swaminathan and others, visited Hyderabad, and contacted the counterpart finance secretary of the state, to discuss various points, such as budget, reserve fund etc. Various clarifications soughtby Sr. Swaminathan could not be clarified by the state's finance secretary, who pointed Sri. Swaminathan to Venkatesa Iyer. Swaminathan met Venkatesa Iyer at his residence, actually staying there for three days, had all his doubts clarified, and took leave of Venkatesa Iyer, fully satisfied. He expressed his opinion that he had not met any other person in any of the princely states who had such detailed knowledge on the subject of finances, as Sri Venkatesa Iyer.

Integration of state govt. railway with union railway

Logo of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway
(from wikipedia.org)

The state had 1300 miles of railway line and the earnings were double or triple of the other railways such as the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIP), Madras and Southern Mahratta (MSM), etc. on accounts of its central location. For example, according to the wikipedia article

The total capital expenditure on the Nizam's State Railway to the end of 1904 was 4.3 crores, and in that year the net earnings were nearly 28 lakhs, or about 6¹⁄₂ per cent, on the outlay. The Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railways had cost 2.6 crores, and earned 7.7 lakhs net in the same year, or nearly 3 per cent.; but in 1901 and 1902 the earnings had been about 3¹⁄₂ per cent.

At the time of the integration of the State Railways with the Union Railways, Venkatesa Iyer was concerned that if the Union Govt. did not pay compensation, the Telengana area, which was already under-developed, would be left high and dry. He conveyed his concerns to the Chief Civil Administrator (CCA), Hyderabad, giving him a graphic review of the poor conditions of the rural areas. The CCA said that it was a matter of official policy to not pay compensation for the railways taken over from the princely states, but Venkatesa Iyer stood fast, and insisted on budget allocation for the development of Telengana, and this was done for a few years.

Purchase of railway from the NGSR

 

The railway was purchased by the state (Nizam's) govt. in 1932 from the the NGSR (see Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway) company, for a sum of Rs 32 crores. The govt. took over control and renamed it as the NSR (Nizam State Railways). Soon dispute started. Both British as well as Indian shareholders to the former NGSR filed cases against the govt in the State High Court, with a copy to the Viceroy of India. They adduced arguments that since the state is centrally located geographically, both passenger and goods traffic pass through the NGSR. Tract and allocation of fares should have been double or triple of other railways such as the GIP,MSM, etc. They disputed the allocation figures, and the case went on for four decades.

This case was handled was Sri Iyer in a masterly way when he was the Audit Officer, and his brilliant exposition of rules and accountancy, earned him a lot of praise and glory, such as a bright star shining on the horizon. Sri Iyer was then the Dy. Chief Auditor (Rlys) and the post of Chief Auditor was only officio. Sri Iyer prepared a balance sheet enclosing relevant details and allocation sheets of distribution of traffic receipts. Smelling Sri. Iyer's efforts as ant-shareholder, the shareholders began to knock on his door, asking him to desist from furnishing the balance sheet. They even offered to bribe him. Sri Iyer assured them that he would be impartial, and also include their dissenting viewpoints in the proceedings. 

The case went on under the stewardship of Sri. A. Ramaswamy Iyengar, the then Advocate General (AG). As the case dragged on, Sri Iyer retired from service. He was persuaded by the CM Sri Sanjeeva Reddy to extend his office, but he bluntly refused extension. He was drawn to the witness box by the AG and opposition advocates, and answered all their questions based on the impartial points he had included in his original balance sheet. On the strength of his points, the govt. won the case.  It is worth mentioning that both the AG and the opposition advocates and the entire Bar gave him a standing ovation. The CM (Sri Sanjeeva Reddy) offered Sri Iyer a financial reward, which Sri Iyer declined.

On account of his masterly handling of the case, Sri Iyer was request to write office manuals for certain departments. He replied that he had decided to devote the rest of his life in meditation, in search of good and the in the vision of God. We will exmaine his religious/spiritual pursuits in the concluding episode of his biography (to be contd.)