Highway blues
There’s trouble a plenty at the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), not the least being the pending appointment of a new chairman, which has been hanging fire for some months. Now, apparently, the government has signalled that it would rather have a technocrat heading the organisation than an Indian Administrative Service officer.
Whether that will speed up the appointment process, however, remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, what’s really got babus at NHAI abuzz is a slanging match between a whistle-blowing senior manager and NHAI’s erstwhile vigilance chief. According to sources, Rajesh Gupta, general manager (finance) in NHAI, lodged a complaint with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) alleging that the then head of the vigilance wing of NHAI, R. Mukundan, demanded bribes and should be investigated. He also sought protection under the whistle-blower provision. Mr Mukundan, on the other hand, claims being harassed by Mr Gupta and has asked the CVC to protect vigilance officers against such threats. With such ongoing strife, it is all the more imperative that the new chief is named soon.
***
Few good men
As the fake pilot scam continues to unravel, babu-watchers point out yet another reason for the current woes of the aviation sector regulator. Apparently the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is severely understaffed and heavily dependent on temporary consultants. The regulator has 140 full-time employees, a number which is likely to reduce as investigations into the scam progress.
Babu-watchers also note that civil aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi and DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan, though not newcomers to the sector, are still relatively new to their current positions, having being appointed a few months ago. For the time being the duo has been trying to address the shortage of staff. But given the extent of the rot, they may end up losing more employees before they gain them.
***
Whip cracking
For the past several months the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has been turning the screws on recalcitrant babus who continue to ignore directives to submit mandatory information about their immovable assets. To make the babus fall in line, DoPT has decided to link promotions to babus’ adherence to this directive.
Not surprisingly, this step has had an immediate effect on babus, especially those in Andhra Pradesh, say sources. But while most of the 282 IAS officers of the Andhra Pradesh cadre have submitted their immovable property returns (IPRs), more than 80 babus have still not done so. State chief secretary S.V. Prasad has now warned the errant babus that their promotions could be on the line if they fail to comply.
Post new comment