Dilli Ka Babu
Principal interest
Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, known for his reluctance to let go of his favoured babus, has raised eyebrows by sending off his principal secretary Chattar Singh to Dilli. The 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service officer is reportedly set to become a member of the Union Public Service Commission. Mr Singh has already been granted two three-month extensions after his superannuation on March 31.
Those who claim an ability to read tea leaves believe that the move to send Mr Singh to the capital is an indication that
Mr Hooda wants to increase his clout at the Centre. But be that as it may, Mr Singh’s imminent exit has set off a succession tussle between eligible Haryana babus. It is being said that Mr Hooda plans to appoint two officers in
Mr Singh’s slot. Odds are that the two most likely officers will be S.S. Dhillon and K.K. Khandelwal, though one cannot vouch for the appearance of proverbial dark horses.
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Reform plea
Tired of arbitrary suspensions and transfers ordered by politicians, bureaucrats are now beginning to express their disapproval to the government. Early this week, observers noted, that the three Central services — Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service have joined hands to urge the government to change the rules empowering state governments to suspend public servants. This is a significant development, say observers.
Sources say that representatives of the three services met with personnel secretary S.K. Sarkar and sought reforms and made some suggestions in this regard, according to Sanjay K. Bhoosreddy, secretary of the All-India IAS Association. Among the suggested reforms is that the suspension order for any Central service officer should be cleared by the Centre. The question, however, is whether the babus will receive a sympathetic hearing from the netas?
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BABU crunch
The severe paucity of Indian Administrative Service officers in Thiruvananthapuram, due to the steady exodus of babus on Central deputation has created an “administrative crisis” in Kerala, according to chief secretary E.K. Bharat Bhushan. Apparently, the situation is serious enough for the government to put on hold the sanctioning of central deputation for two principal secretaries, health secretary Rajeev Sadanandan and finance secretary V.P. Joy.
Not just that, sources say, the state government has also decided to recall all IAS officers who went on Central deputation but have not returned even after their tenure expired. From now on, at least for the foreseeable future, the Kerala government will send state cadre officers on deputation only after suitable replacements are found in the state.
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