Caught in the loop

Yet another babu has unwittingly been sucked into the 2G quagmire. Nine years after he retired as telecom secretary, Shyamal Ghosh, a 1965-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, has been named in an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of

Investigation (CBI) for allegedly favouring certain telecom companies in the allotment of spectrum during the tenure of then telecom minister Pramod Mahajan.
Though the CBI insists that the allotment of spectrum during Mahajan’s tenure led to a loss of `508 crore, there is a growing feeling that Mr Ghosh is being made a scapegoat. As it is, another former telecom secretary, Siddhartha Behura, is already behind bars in the scam. While the CBI has not made any move after raiding Mr Ghosh’s residence, nothing can be ruled out. The
“unfairness” of it all rankles my tribesmen.

***

Of law & politics
It may be just a coincidence but as political temperatures mount in election-bound Uttar Pradesh, the heat is rising on certain “questionable” bureaucratic appointments made by chief minister Mayawati. The Supreme Court has now admitted a plea
challenging the appointment of a non-IAS person, Shashank Shekhar Singh, as “Cabinet” secretary of the state. Of course, Mr Singh’s proximity to Ms Mayawati is not
news, but the post that he holds apparently has no
precedent.
According to sources, when Ms Mayawati created this position to accommodate her close confidant through a state order, it was clarified that Mr Singh would be at par with the state chief secretary. But due to his closeness to the chief minister, for all practical
purposes Mr Singh wields more power than the top babu, Anoop Mishra, a 1978-batch IAS officer.

***

The great divide
The “class” system is truly active in West Bengal’s babudom. Ever since Gautam Sanyal was appointed principal secretary to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, there is considerable heartburn in Kolkata’s Writers’ Building. The consternation is probably due to the fact that Mr Sanyal, while being equivalent to a joint secretary, is a central secretariat service (CSS) officer and not a haloed IAS.
According to sources, having a CSS officer occupy a senior position (conventionally held by an IAS officer) has left quite a few senior IAS babus rather upset. Apparently, the
resentment runs deep since chief secretary Samar Ghosh was allegedly reluctant to appoint Mr Sanyal because of his “lack of seniority”. But
Ms Banerjee usually gets what she wants. So Mr Sanyal stays (though retired, he
has been given a year’s
extension).