Dilli Ka Babu
Invaluable babu
The alleged “Coalgate” has led to an interesting fallout in the coal ministry. Last month coal secretary Alok Perti retired and was succeeded by his junior colleague from the Assam cadre, S.K. Srivatsava. But Mr Perti has been retained in the ministry as advisor until August-end.
Obviously, the ministry has its hands full with the controversy surrounding the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on the controversial allocation of coal blocks by the ministry to private firms. And now that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, too, has been dragged into the controversy, the UPA government is keen to mount a credible defence of the Prime Minister. Sources say, Mr Perti’s retention is due to his in-depth understanding of the ministry’s functioning. He and his successor, Mr Srivastava, have worked closely with coal minister Shriprakash Jaiswal. Apparently, Mr Jaiswal, too, was keen on Mr Perti staying on to defend the government’s case in the coal scam. How that plays out will be known only once Parliament reconvenes for the Monsoon Session.
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Paying the price
This column has tracked the unending travails of Haryana cadre Indian Forest Service officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi who is paying the price for being a whistleblower. The officer had sought permission for Central deputation last year, but the Haryana government has been dragging its feet, even after the Centre asked the Hooda government to relieve the officer. Readers may recall that Mr Chaturvedi had exposed the nexus between powerful politicians and forest department officials. Since then he has faced several (fruitless) inquiries. It took the state government seven months merely to forward his request for deputation to the Centre.
According to sources, the Union ministry of environment and forests has written to state chief secretary P.K. Chaudhery to relieve Mr Chaturvedi of his present duties so that he can join his new assignment in Delhi. The state government is yet to respond.
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Good old days
It’s rare for bureaucrats, who by training are circumspect and not given to readily sharing their thoughts, to let it all hang out. But the release of former babu M.K. Kaw’s memoir An Outsider Everywhere, in the capital recently provided an occasion for babus to unwind and speak their mind. From former Cabinet secretary T.S.R. Subramanian to some of the present-day luminaries, babus used the occasion to reminisce about the “good old days”.
As is often the case at such gatherings, the theme was “us” versus “them”. Mr Kaw, in his authorial capacity, bemoaned that the current crop of bureaucrats do not speak their mind (or at least not often enough) irrespective of what their political masters say. Several of those present seemed to agree with him. Wonder what the babus would have to say to Messrs Kaw and Co. on that.
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