Accessibility and approachability count, regardless of one’s position in any hierarchy. In most cases, the harsh reality is that at least accessibility reduces as one goes up the hierarchy. But Telangana presents a unique case where the office of the Director-General of Police in Lakdikapul is accessible, while the office of the Commissioner of Hyderabad Police in Banjara Hills is decidedly not. The newly established Command Control Center has been in the news for wrong reasons. Media circles are abuzz discussing how the TSPICCC has become a security fortress and impregnable like the TS Secretariat. Officials working out of TSPICCC are worked up as every action of theirs is getting recorded by default — whom they are meeting; how warm and cordial they are with the visitors, this, and that. So, hypersensitive officers are requesting media persons not to come inside. Incidentally, at the DGP office, which is more accessible to media, the tracking is not as much as in TSPICCC. At the end of the day, the joke among official circles is that any new building that comes up in Telangana is going to be inaccessible to the media.
Who wanted the letter to be out?
There is no smoke without fire. What if the firefighting has been exemplary. On the day when some of the portfolios held by Panchayati Raj Secretary were reassigned to someone else, a complaint had gone to the Minister of Panchayati Raj from the CEOs and Deputy CEOs Welfare Association. The letter, dated 14 July, was somewhat crude, alleging that the positive ambience of the department had been disturbed over the past two years and that disrespectful words were used by the official. All this happened because he just wanted things to be done; otherwise, officers were surrendered, suspended, and somehow made to work otherwise. The Minister apparently had sorted out the issue quickly. Still, the letter in question was leaked to the media. A little bird told us that by the time the letter reached the media, things had been sorted out and none of the parties to the dispute wanted the issue to come out in the media. So, the whispers in the corridors of power are about who could be the mischievous persons who wanted the letter to be out at any cost.
Retired bureaucrats readily rehired
There may be deadwood in bureaucracy; yet it is not easy to let go off some of the retired bureaucrats. This is because of the ‘something special’ that they bring to the table. Of late, retired bureaucrats are being appointed as advisors. However, the AP High Court had passed strictures over the Andhra Pradesh government’s decision to appoint too many advisors. So, the AP government has changed tack. It has started rehiring bureaucrats without even waiting for the day of superannuation. For instance, Industries and Commerce Department Special Chief Secretary R Karikal Valaven, set to retire this month, has reportedly been issued orders of re-employment as Special Chief Secretary to Government (Endowments), Revenue Department for one year.
A little bird told us that Karikal Valaven was given re-employment as Spl CS as the Tamil Nadu counterpart had made a recommendation in this regard to AP CM Jagan. In Telangana too, retirement has become merely the time for redesignation as bureaucrats like Rani Kumudini and Adhar Sinha have been rehired. The government may have to face the music eventually, but babus can rest assured that some of them are prized even after retirement.
Jealousy over postings
In bureaucracy, it is difficult to keep the green-eyed monster at bay. Peers want to see you do good, but never better than them. This has been proved in the case of P Katyanani Devi. Formerly OSD to Minister KT Rama Rao, she has now been posted as Director, Mines & Geology. This has made some of her peers jealous. They include a few officials who were given namesake postings, despite being regular IAS officers. The whispers in the corridors of power are about the stroke of luck that landed Katyanani a plum posting despite being conferred IAS.
Choosy about positions
Some senior officials are choosy about their positions. They do not accept every position that is offered to them on a platter or otherwise. Senior IAS officer (2010 batch) Gandam Chandrudu, awaiting posting for almost a year, has been posted as the Director, Horticulture & Sericulture. The IAS officer, formerly district collector of Anantapur, had been previously transferred and posted as Director, Village/Ward Secretariat. But Chandrudu did not join as the director. Subsequently, there were posts on social media platforms that the IAS officer had been posted as Collector of Vizag and that the government had kept Chandrudu under abeyance for a long time. It is not clear whether he is ready to take up the present assignment.
Babu questions CBI chargesheet
At times, Central agencies may have a political agenda. But AIS officers cannot be bullied into submission if an agency’s claim is questionable. Senior IAS officer Ajeya Kallam, whose statement was recorded by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the high-profile case relating to the murder of former minister YS Vivekananda Reddy, has disputed the CBI’s claim, raising eyebrows. The senior IAS officer has alleged that the CBI charge-sheet has mentioned things which he had never said. Ajeya Kallam filed a writ petition in the Telangana High Court praying for action as the CBI did not record his true statement in the Viveka murder case. He denied having stated to the CBI anything about Jagan being called by his spouse.
