Second thought
May 02 : Union Human resource development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal apparently has abandoned his rather reasoned opposition to the appointment of career babus to top positions in education. Until last year, the HRD minister was convinced that he preferred educationists in
education over bureaucrats, but in recommending Avinash Dikshit, a 1986 batch officer of the rather off-beat Indian Defence Accounts Service, for appointment as commissioner of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, he has backtracked.
Sources say that Mr Dikshit’s name was recommended by the ministry after a search-cum-selection panel set up by Mr Sibal found him most appropriate for the post. Interestingly, Mr Dikshit was private secretary to Mr Sibal when he headed the science and technology ministry in the first United Progressive Alliance government. And there lies the rub.
While nobody has criticised Mr Sibal’s move yet, academicians have often questioned the practice of appointing career bureaucrats to top educational posts, particularly during the tenures of predecessors. Watch this space for updates.
education over bureaucrats, but in recommending Avinash Dikshit, a 1986 batch officer of the rather off-beat Indian Defence Accounts Service, for appointment as commissioner of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, he has backtracked.
Sources say that Mr Dikshit’s name was recommended by the ministry after a search-cum-selection panel set up by Mr Sibal found him most appropriate for the post. Interestingly, Mr Dikshit was private secretary to Mr Sibal when he headed the science and technology ministry in the first United Progressive Alliance government. And there lies the rub.
While nobody has criticised Mr Sibal’s move yet, academicians have often questioned the practice of appointing career bureaucrats to top educational posts, particularly during the tenures of predecessors. Watch this space for updates.
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Battle rages on
A year after initiating raids on Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in Karnataka on charges of possessing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income, Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde is at the receiving end. An IPS officer, H. Nimbalkar, who was with the state Anti-Terrorism Squad, has sued Mr Hegde in a Bangalore court for defamation. Mr Nimbalkar has accused the Lokayukta of counting property belonging to his wife as benami and has claimed a princely Re 1 in compensation!
According to sources, Mr Hedge is confident of his investigation of Mr Nimbalkar’s assets and is unperturbed by the lawsuit. On the other hand, the Lokayukta says he favours government officials declaring assets to both Lokayukta and state government before joining the service. He clearly believes that transparency and accountability in public service cannot be easily achieved. But there is no word yet on whether the Karnataka government is amenable to Mr Hegde’s suggestion.
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Under scanner
Chandigarh has long been a bone of bureaucratic contention between Punjab and Haryana. Now Punjab, once again, has turned on the heat, demanding a greater share in the Chandigarh administration. Chandigarh is jointly controlled by the two states in ratio of 60:40, with 60 per cent of the departments headed by Punjab officers. This ratio is now tilted in Haryana’s favour, according to Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal. Mr Badal claims that out of 13 important positions in the Chandigarh administration, only three are held by Punjab cadre officers.
Even as Mr Badal wants greater role for Punjab babus in Chandigarh, the Union Territory itself is no longer the favoured posting for Indian Administrative Service babus following a spate of scams. Sources say that many babus on deputation in Chandigarh are now looking for repatriation.
By Dilip Cherian
