Dilli Ka Babu
Idle in Maharashtra
This cannot but be a cause for concern — there’s a whole slew of senior bureaucrats in Maharashtra who seem to have no work, without any ostensible reason why this should be so. According to sources, at least 24 senior babus have been either awaiting new assignments or transfers for several months, but there is still no sign of urgency in the state government about the situation. Many of these babus say that the fault lies with the hazy transfer policy.
So we have Tanaji Satre, who was managing director of the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), but has been waiting for his new assignment for the past three months. As are Maharashtra Maritime Board CEO S.S. Shinde and Aurangabad municipal commissioner Purshottam Bhapkar. They, too, were relieved of their posts but have not received a new assignment from the Prithviraj Chavan government. What is worrying observers is the obvious impact of this “policy” on the state administration. Apparently, the entire batch of 1998 officers will soon be proceeding on mid-career training, depleting the strength even further.
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Cop exodus
Though the transition to the next commissioner of police has been managed smoothly, the recent transfer of 14 Indian Police Service officers of Delhi police by the ministry of home affairs without suitable replacements has considerably depleted the numbers of officers at the deputy commissioner of police level in the capital. The move is likely to impact functioning of Delhi police, which in recent times has been accused of being unable to check rising crime in the capital.
The transferred officers include Ajay Chaudhary, Vinay Vikram Chaudhary, Dhiraj Kumar, Rajiv Ranjan and Devender Arya among others. These officers belong to the Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre but have been posted to different states. With Delhi Assembly elections due in November, it is not clear how Delhi police will perform its policing duties without senior officers at the helm.
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SC gets tough
Given that many states have been rather reluctant to implement police reforms, the Supreme Court has decided to crack the whip. To ensure that a clear message is sent out, the apex court has issued summons to the chief secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to present themselves in court and explain the steps they have taken to implement police reforms.
The worthies who are in the firing line are Sheela Balakrishnan (Tamil Nadu), Jawed Usmani (Uttar Pradesh), P.K. Mohanty (Andhra Pradesh) and J.K. Banthia (Maharashtra). The police reforms — aimed at improving policing and maintaining public order — were suggested by former IPS officer and Uttar Pradesh director-general of police Prakash Singh. But they are yet to be implemented as politicians are expectedly reluctant to do so. Hopefully, the Supreme Court action will result in some progress.
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