Agri babus get agro

Why not an Indian Agriculture Service? The question is now being asked by peeved agriculture officials who recently submitted a representation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking an all-India cadre of agriculture officials along the lines of the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service etc.

The demand for a separate cadre has been raised from time to time and even recommended by the various commissions and committees on agriculture instituted by the government, but nothing resulted. The present initiative spearheaded by the All-India Federation of Agricultural Associations (AIFAA), the apex body representing agriculture scientists, bureaucrats, teachers as well as students, is determined to make the government pay heed.
The primary grouse of agriculture babus is that though agriculture contributes 65 per cent of the national income, most of the senior positions in the agriculture ministry and departments at the Centre and in the states are held by persons who have little or no knowledge of agriculture.
Will the krishi babus succeed? Neither the savvy agriculture minister Sharad Pawar nor agriculture secretary Prabeer Kumar Basu has commented on the babus’ demand, but it is likely that the babus will not give up soon. Watch this space for updates.

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Another scam
It’s not just private developers who attempt to acquire prime land for profit; given the chance even the government wouldn’t mind turning prime office property into a housing complex. According to sources, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is ready to forego its present office complex in tony Jorbagh, valued at hundreds of crores, and instead convert the space into a residential complex for its employees.
Apparently, this proposal was mooted last year, in which the civil aviation ministry asked for funds to construct a new office complex for DGCA, and convert the present five-acre office complex as a resident group housing society. Surprisingly, the proposal got approval from the Planning Commission. It may have sailed through had the finance ministry and the ministry for urban development not objected to it. The latter has reportedly informed the DGCA that the land belongs to the central public works department (CPWD) and should be returned to it. Now, sources say, director-general of DGCA, E.K. Bharat Bhushan, is claiming that the proposal has been dropped. Meanwhile, the search for new office space will continue, we learn.