Purge begins

The political change in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu is now being followed by an expected bureaucratic reshuffle that goes beyond the capital. On her very first day in office, Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa removed chief secretary Y.S. Malathi and home secretary K. Gnanadesikan, among others. No doubt, this is only the beginning of the “purge”.

In West Bengal, of course, the exodus of babus began long ago. Sumit Mitra, currently Union revenue secretary, was among those who moved out of Kolkata last year, and post-retirement may move right back. The exodus from Writers’ Building has gathered pace now. Among those seeking transfer to Delhi are Subhesh Das, principal secretary in the chief minister’s office, and Subrata Gupta, managing director of the state Industrial Development Corporation. Interestingly, observers note a mirror-like keenness in some Bengal cadre officials on deputation to return to the state. Apparently Jawahar Sircar, culture secretary, is among those tipped to return to Kolkata. Clearly the exodus is working both ways!

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A radical step
Delays in appointing independent directors to the boards of public sector companies have finally forced the department of public sector enterprises (DPE) to appropriate this function and unilaterally make appointments. At stake is `40,000 crores which the government plans to raise through stake sales in state-run companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation.
According to sources, DPE secretary Bhaskar Chatterjee has written to the administrative ministries to start the appointment process six months before any director’s term ends. Failure to do so will result in the DPE stepping in with its own search committee to invite and scrutinise recommendations and ensure that little time in lost in administrative procedures. All very sensible, of course, but still a rather radical idea for babus who find any change from the norm discomforting!

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Babu admirers
After the harrowing experience of being abducted by Maoists and held captive for eight days, R.V. Krishna, the district magistrate of Malkangiri, won quite a few admirers in Delhi’s babu circles. But the ordeal may have an upside for the doughty babu, who is known for his commitment to tribal welfare. The buzz in the capital is that environment minister Jairam Ramesh has apparently decided to bring Mr Krishna to Delhi as his personal secretary.
According to sources, Mr Ramesh is impressed with Mr Krishna’s work in the district, especially his close monitoring of various projects that deal with environmental issues. Sources add that Mr Ramesh has already made a formal request to the Orissa government for a Central posting for Mr Krishna. Once the paperwork is completed, the 2005 batch Indian Administrative Service officer is likely to take up his new posting.