18 Mar, 2007
PATNA: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar always complains about the dearth of IAS officers in the state. "The previous government made a mistake by not demanding the increase of IAS cadres, after bifurcation of the state. I have taken up the matter with the Centre now," he said recently. Interestingly, in this "IAS officer-starved" state, many IAS officers are virtually jobless. An IAS officer, posted in the state planning board, spends his time trying to learn music. Yet another IAS officer spends his days honing his gardening skills. "It is very educating. I have known more about plants in one year than I had known in my whole life spent earlier," he said wryly. Of course, most of these senior bureaucrats say they hardly get a file in a day at their respective offices. The state planning board is considered the "dumping ground" for "unwanted" IAS officers. Presently, KK Pandey, AK Thakur and MM Singh have been posted there. Singh, who was the chairman of Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB), was shunted out after power supply in the state collapsed recently. Yet another IAS officer, SK Sinha has been posted as secretary (state gazetteer) for many years. Even IAS officers are unable to say what is Sinha's job as the state government does not come out with gazettes. Till recently, U K Nanda was posted as DG (prosecution), another post considered "shunted" by the IAS fraternity. Senior IAS officers Amita Paul, Pancham Lal and C Ashok Vardhan have been put in the revenue board, a place dubbed as "tension free" by the officials because of little work there. Senior IAS officer V Jaishankar has been posted as commissioner (disabilities). It is for the first time that an IAS officer has been given the post meant for an expert in disabilities. "The list of jobless officers could be extended to IPS officers also. You have a DIG-rank official looking after the crime record bureau which is basically a clerk's job," said a senior IPS officer. On the other hand, there are few "chosen" ones who are in charge of three to four key posts. PRD secretary Vivek Singh looks after four posts, personnel secretary Amir Subhani looks after three and so does the art and culture secretary Anjani Singh, while the NDA government has been repeatedly stressing about selection of "right persons for the right jobs", some of its recent transfers have been questioned by experts. "Urban development is supposed to be one of the thrust areas of this government because they are talking about greater Patna and speeding up urbanisation in Bihar. Yet the official who has been posted there will retire within a couple of months. An official who is on the verge of retirement will be more interested in ensuring retirement benefits for him than working out a long-term plan for his department," said a retired IAS officer.
PATNA: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar always complains about the dearth of IAS officers in the state. "The previous government made a mistake by not demanding the increase of IAS cadres, after bifurcation of the state. I have taken up the matter with the Centre now," he said recently. Interestingly, in this "IAS officer-starved" state, many IAS officers are virtually jobless. An IAS officer, posted in the state planning board, spends his time trying to learn music. Yet another IAS officer spends his days honing his gardening skills. "It is very educating. I have known more about plants in one year than I had known in my whole life spent earlier," he said wryly. Of course, most of these senior bureaucrats say they hardly get a file in a day at their respective offices. The state planning board is considered the "dumping ground" for "unwanted" IAS officers. Presently, KK Pandey, AK Thakur and MM Singh have been posted there. Singh, who was the chairman of Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB), was shunted out after power supply in the state collapsed recently. Yet another IAS officer, SK Sinha has been posted as secretary (state gazetteer) for many years. Even IAS officers are unable to say what is Sinha's job as the state government does not come out with gazettes. Till recently, U K Nanda was posted as DG (prosecution), another post considered "shunted" by the IAS fraternity. Senior IAS officers Amita Paul, Pancham Lal and C Ashok Vardhan have been put in the revenue board, a place dubbed as "tension free" by the officials because of little work there. Senior IAS officer V Jaishankar has been posted as commissioner (disabilities). It is for the first time that an IAS officer has been given the post meant for an expert in disabilities. "The list of jobless officers could be extended to IPS officers also. You have a DIG-rank official looking after the crime record bureau which is basically a clerk's job," said a senior IPS officer. On the other hand, there are few "chosen" ones who are in charge of three to four key posts. PRD secretary Vivek Singh looks after four posts, personnel secretary Amir Subhani looks after three and so does the art and culture secretary Anjani Singh, while the NDA government has been repeatedly stressing about selection of "right persons for the right jobs", some of its recent transfers have been questioned by experts. "Urban development is supposed to be one of the thrust areas of this government because they are talking about greater Patna and speeding up urbanisation in Bihar. Yet the official who has been posted there will retire within a couple of months. An official who is on the verge of retirement will be more interested in ensuring retirement benefits for him than working out a long-term plan for his department," said a retired IAS officer.
No comments:
Post a Comment