For all those betting on IAS transfers, things will be clear by July31st. A little bird told us that until the decennial celebrations of Telangana State’s formation are done,there is no question of any rejig. Meanwhile, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has asked Collectors of all the districts to send reports on the decennial celebrations. It is presumed that these reports will play a key role in giving shape to the decisions that the Chief Minister will take concerning the upcoming Assembly elections. So, the reshuffle is expectedto take place after the decennial fete and in line with the mandate set by CEC. For newbies, the Central Election Commission has directed the respective Chief Secretaries of five states to transfer key officials in Revenue and Police departments who had completed three years of their term before July 31st and submit a report in this regard.
Eyeing for Hyderabad posting
For officials at all levels, it pays to be close to the seat of administration. Some of the officials in Telangana,almost a decade into service, are done and dusted with serving as Collectors. They are now eyeing for a posting in Hyderabad. IAS officers serving as Collectors, especially those of 2010, 2011, and 2012 IAS batches, are hoping for a change. Interestingly, these officers have not completed the three-year period that has been cited as the main criterion by CEC for reshuffle. So, the corridors of power are discussing the reasons why the Chief Minister would not prefer major changes, while goingahead with those that are mandatory. Apart from Collectors, Additional Collectors –local bodies also want to climb the ladder. There are about nine Additional Collectors – local bodies who will have completed more than three years by July31st.
Did Rachakonda CP get step-motherly treatment?
When a significant event is being held jointly by two significant agencies of the Police Department, can the top cop concerned be far behind? And when they do make it a point to attend it, how can you consider them gate crashers? The treatment meted out to the Rachakonda Commissioner of Police at an event organised by the Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau and the Cyber Security Bureau resulted in murmurs among some of the key people who attended it. The last one to be invited to occupy his seat on the stage, D S Chauhan was zapped to see no chair earmarked for him to occupy. When he was about to dismount the stage red-faced, Cyberabad Commissioner of Police Stephen Raveendra got him a chair. Throughout the event, Rachakonda was barely mentioned. While everyone chose to stayback for the photo-op after the event, Chauhan got going on his phone and left. The invitationsfor the event had been extended by Hyderabad and Cyberabad CPs. The buzz was that they didnot expect their Rachakonda counterpart to come. It turned out that since the who’s who of the Police Department were there, the Rachakonda top cop simply went by the rule book.
Babus get breather to record their good work
It is time for filing forms that will go into the annual performance appraisal report. While some bureaucrats are done with this task, others are yet to complete it and have sought additional time to recollect and record the high points of their performance throughout the year. Officials heaved a sigh of relief after they got a 15-day extension of the period within which they need to make submissions. They now have a breather to recollect and list all their good work. For newbies, the performance of every government servant is assessed annually (April-March) and recorded in the Annual Performance Assessment Report, which remains a crucial document all through their career, right from confirmation upon probation to promotion and other forms of career growth such as selection for deputation or foreign assignment and the like.
When even choicest officials work under EC mandate
Ahead of elections, politicians start angling for tickets and babus for postings. They do need each other but cannot work together once the Election Commission of India steps in for seeing through the poll process. Even as the Election Commission has directed the transfer of officials who had completed three years of service at one place as well as officials working in their own districts, some of the officials have approached the ruling party seeking transfer to specific places. This has enthused some MLAs who believe they can get certain officers to do them favours during the elections. Some legislators belong to the ruling party are bringing pressure on the state government to post in their respective districts choicest officers. They seem to have forgotten the fact that once the election process begins, the entire administration will go into the hands of the Election Commission. That is, these bureaucrats will have to act only as per the directions of the EC until completion of the election process. If any officer tries to favour any party, ignoring the directions of the Election Commission, they will surely face the music.
-Yours truly
