The deafening silence of the Telangana IAS Officers Association on the release of gangster-turned politician Anand Mohan, who was serving life term for killing IAS officer G Krishnaiah, son of soil from Mahabubnagar, has taken everyone by surprise. The IAS Officers Associations in Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Bihar, among others, have denounced the release of Anand Mohan. Officially no statement has been released by the TS association till date. The saving grace is that Smita Sabarwal, Secretary to the Chief Minister, posted on Twitter: “Sometimes one wonders if being a civil servant is worth it. Request the SC and CJI to intervene”. In another tweet, she said that Krishnaiah was neither honoured as a martyr nor awarded for devotion to duty… they just show us what it takes.
Change in I & PR Dept raises eyebrows
The abrupt replacement of Arvind Kumar with Ashok Reddy Korem as Information & Public Relations Commissioner is being discussed extensively in official circles. Ashok has been OSD for Harish Rao in respect of Irrigation and Finance portfolios. He was recently conferred IAS. He knows the system inside out, despite being 2014 batch. A little bird told us that Arvind himself wanted to relinquish the post, considering that the election year requires a full-time Commissioner. However, there are whispers in power circles that internal bickering in the I&PR wing, coupled with political hobnobbing, may have triggered the changes.
Somesh Kumar to be Advisor to CM
Telangana’s former Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar will be back in action soon, though in a different avatar. A little bird told us that Somesh Kumar will be Advisor to the Chief Minister and the announcement could come anytime. Recently, when Minister K T Rama Rao was interacting with the media, he was asked about Somesh Kumar’s presence in Aurangabad. In response, the Minister said since Somesh had retired, he could be seen anywhere. The Chief Minister too has hailed Somesh’s contribution to the development of Telangana at least twice — during the Secretariat inaugural and at a public meeting in Aurangabad.
When corridors encroach office space
Although the new Secretariat has been inaugurated, some of the bureaucrats are not all that excited about their offices. They were noticeably calm and composed while signing on files after occupying their seats. For, the offices of these bureaucrats seemed somewhat smaller than the ones they were using earlier. A catchy comment was that “corridors are wider than the office rooms”. Well, on these lines the corridors of power were literally discussing the wider corridors. Some of the bureaucrats do have an option to operate from multiple offices; so, they can stay put in comfortable places. What about others?
Incremental punishment
In administrative circles, being divested of portfolios one after another is considered incremental punishment with the axe falling eventually. Following reshuffle of IAS officers in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, senior bureaucrat Rajat Bhargava, Special Chief Secretary to Government (Excise, Registrations & Stamps), Revenue Department, was re-designated as Special Chief Secretary to Government (Excise), Revenue Department. For the unversed, Rajat, as Special CS, was previously holding the portfolios of Commercial Taxes with additional charge of Tourism and Culture, apart from Registration and Stamps. His re-designation of Saturday suggests that the senior IAS officer is facing rough weather. Noticeably, in the same reshuffle, five other IAS officers have been elevated from their present positions.
Lessons for the Education Department
Some officials prove to be a tough nut to crack, regardless of the department in which they are serving. They mean business, always. Senior IAS officer and Principal Secretary Praveen Prakash, who had to pay a heavy price for bulldozing his way to develop the respective cities as Commissioner of Visakhapatnam, Guntur, and Vijayawada corporations, is now back in the news for his no-nonsense approach in the Education Department. He has been chastising teachers who are sloppy in discharging their duties and has even suspended some of the incorrigible ones. To cap it all, on Saturday, the IAS officer personally checked the quality of the shoes and bags being given to students as part of the Jagananna Vidyakanuka kit. He made it clear to the suppliers concerned that all items in the kit must be durable and of good quality; failing which the manufacturing company would be blacklisted. Praveen is credited for the modernization works in Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Vijayawada taken up when he was the Commissioner of the respective corporations. He was committed to develop the city. His strict actions towards that end, including demolition of encroached structures for road widening and other works, were criticized. He was in the loop line for quite some time. Looks like he has a lesson for all those who need it in the Education Department. He does not want to give scope for slackness among teachers and employees in the department.
