Teen Maha Bhrast

The book is an attempt to tell the full story of the historic action undertaken by the officers of the Uttar Pradesh IAS Officers Association in selecting the three most corrupt officers through voting by secret ballot from among themselves in the years 1996 and 1997 in order to address the rising tide of corruption and mal governance that was afflicting the administration of the state of Uttar Pradesh. The election of three most corrupt IAS officers of the state of Uttar Pradesh by the serving members of the most elite and powerful public service in the country was an unprecedented experiment in self purification not just in the annals of the Indian bureaucracy but maybe in any public service anywhere in the world. It was scarcely believable that such a thing was possible even at the time it had taken place but with the passage of time and with the direction governance and administration has since taken in our country it seems downright impossible to even think of something like it today. Though parts of the story are quite well known it was not possible to make all the details public as many key players were still in service. Most of the leading actors in the story have since retired from service and hence it seems an opportune time to tell the complete story to the public, with all its twists and turns. The author spearheaded the campaign to organize a secret ballot to select the “teen mahabhrast” and was at the center of all the discussions and meetings preceding the first vote on 14th December 1996 and hence is uniquely placed to lift the veil on this unique experiment. The book starts with the author’s personal experiences as an officer recruited into the prestigious Indian Administrative Service and allotted his home state of Uttar Pradesh coming face to face with the brazen loot and corruption in his initial posting in the far flung areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Whether it be the rampant corruption in flood relief works, development works, the public