Candid Notes

Cadre Clash 

The constitution of Civil Services Board in Uttarakhand is being seen as measure taken by the powerful IAS lobby to rein in the IPS officers in the State. The elite Babus are deeply perturbed by exploits of Special Investigation Team (SIT) helmed by an IPS officer in the NH-74 scam. After arrest of some Chote Babus, the SIT has now zeroed in on two IAS officers for their dubious role as arbitrators in cases involving acquisition of land for NH- 74. The outraged Babus have now retaliated by digging out the buried file of the Civil Services Board ostensibly for bringing transparency in the transfer and postings of IPS officers. The Chairman of the five member board would have four IAS officers including Chief Secretary as Chairman while Director General (DG) of police would be the lone IPS in it. With power corridors buzzing with stories of simmering cold war between top two cadres of Government machinery, it would be interesting to note how things unfold now.

Transfer Travails

It seems that the Education Department which deploys maximum number of Government employees in the Himalayan State has thrown the rule book and much vaunted ‘Transfers Act’ of TSR Government to trash. Known to excel in all kind of things not related with education, the department has recently shifted wife of a BJP leader, who holds a powerful post in the highest office of State Government, from a school in Haridwar to one of its directorate in Dehradun. The department had received flak earlier too when a special 'grievance cell' was specially constituted in Dehradun with an intention to fulfil cherished dream of some teachers, who happen to be wives and relatives of powerful including some BJP leaders, to serve in Dehradun. With backdoor entries galore to accommodate wishes of powerful in the biggest Government department, all talks of transparency, crusade against corruption and stress on improving quality of education sound completely hollow and out of place.

Babu’s Plight

A mercurial Babu known for his extraordinary manoeuvring skills is on wrong side of things these days. The Babu originally belonging to the cadre of Government college teachers, adorned many powerful positions in the administration and attained notoriety owing to his controversial working style, went out of the favour with the present regime when he was shunted out from a plum position and sent to a not so lucrative position in New Delhi. After spending some time in Delhi, this blue eyed boy of a top bureaucrat calling shots in Uttarakhand, managed to get back to the state and retain his coveted assignment in Dehradun. However his joy was short-lived when a vigilance inquiry was ordered against him and he was attached in State secretariat. Laying low waiting for the tide to turn in his favour, the Babu is now grudgingly telling his acquaintances that he has not received salary from last five months and no office or vehicle has been allotted yet to him.