The
arrival of 2015 observed a new churning on the political horizon of India.
Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP outfit captured the throne of Delhi with a thumping
majority of 67 out of 70 MLAs. But the subsequent squabble between Kejriwal,
Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan and Prof. Anand Kumar is a sordid saga within
a party which professed to bring in swaraj in Delhi and India. This has sparked
a debate whether political parties run or dominated by individuals are becoming
intolerant of sane voices; whether it is Mayawati, Jayalalithaa, Mulayam Singh
Yadav, Prakash Singh Badal, or even the Congress or BJP—all are under the sway
of intolerance. This is the beginning of a dangerous trend.
April 9, 2015
‘Environment is not only about project clearances’
BIG
BOSS
ashok lavasa secretary, moefcc
Ashok Lavasa, a 1980-batch
IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, is an MPhil in defence studies, also holds an
MBA and is currently Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate
Change. He has immense administrative experience in the Ministries of Civil
Aviation, Power, Home Affairs, and the Department of Economic Affairs in the
central government and in Haryana where he began as SDO, Mahendragarh, and has
served as Principal Secretary, Department of Power, and Chairman, Haryana Power
Generation Corporation.
El Dorado for sand mafia
EXPOSÉ
mining madhya pradesh
The blatant flouting of the law by the sand mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh is set to get worse with the state government coming out with an even more liberal policy. The nexus between the mafia, politician and bureaucrat is very strong, emboldening the sand mafia even more
by Rakesh Dixit
THE coming days
will be marked by hectic activity in the sand mining business in Madhya Pradesh
since lease periods of a majority of the state’s 1,700 sand mines have lapsed
in March. The state government’s liberal mining policy, announced on March 12,
has ensured that the multi-billion-rupee sand mining business attracts more
players to the bidding.
Where is it heading?
governance
environment mg devasahayam
With
development the buzzword, environmental concerns are increasingly being given a
short shrift. A recent government committee report also fails to address the
problems besetting environmental governance
Way
back in 1894, a report by the State Fish and Game Commissioner of North Dakota
cautioned that short-term thinking on environment and narrow monetary
motivations might lead to the destruction of the ‘last tree’ and the ‘last
fish’.
A systemic rot
GOVERNANCE
probe bureaucracy
The death of IAS officer DK Ravi has revealed the full extent of
the corruption that has set into the political and administrative system of the
country
by MG Devasahayam
karnataka’s
crusader-IAS officer DK Ravi’s murder or ‘coerced’ suicide—yet to be
established through independent investigation—has thrown the system into a
tailspin and has exposed its rot. Within hours of discovery of the body,
hanging from a ceiling fan in the officer’s apartment, and even before an FIR
was registered, Bengaluru’s Police Commissioner pronounced it as a case of
‘suicide for personal reasons’. This was endorsed by the state’s Home Minister,
KJ George, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the entire ruling establishment.
Retired, but not tired
FIRST
STIRRINGS
surrinder lal kapur
Surrinder Lal Kapur
lived a full and interesting life as a civil servant, and he continues to do so
even years after retirement
It was
sometime in the summer of 1985. Surrinder Lal Kapur, the 1960-batch IAS
officer, the then Financial Commissioner (Taxation) in his home state, Punjab,
was in Srinagar to participate in a meeting of sales tax and excise officers of
the northern zone. He was introduced to a young IAS from Jammu & Kashmir,
Sham Singh Kapur.
The farce called electronic media
SILLY POINT
humour mk kaw
There was a time when Times Now claimed to be the most
watched show on television. Arnab Goswami was touted as the most ardently
watched anchor. A time came when reams of newsprint were devoted to a close
analysis of the reasons for the immense popularity of Arnab’s prime time show, Newshour.
Experts
pointed out the reasons for the mass appeal. Arnab was famous for posing a
question and then refusing to hear the answer.
Indira’s comeback
BOOK
EXTRACT
prime ministers indira gandhi
The
hurriedly cobbled coalition of parties was swept out in 1980 largely because
all its leaders were a squabbling bunch of men, who spent nearly all their time
abusing one another in public view, unmindful of what it was doing to the
people. They took their power for granted.They had finished Indira Gandhi, and
with her the Nehru dynasty, never to rise again. Or, so they thought in their
wisdom.
An ode to Rahul Sharma
MY
CORNER
tribute amitabh thakur
He
has played his role as a true IPS officer successfully, in periods of acute
crisis, without being partisan to one and all
Rahul Sharma was
an Indian Police Service officer of the Gujarat cadre, belonging to the 1992
batch, who sought voluntary retirement on November 20, 2014. His request was
finally accepted on February 28, 2015. Thus, today Rahul is an ex-IPS officer.
At the time of his retirement, he was DIG (armed unit) at Rajkot, Gujarat.
Almost all his batchmates are in the rank of Inspector General. In contrast,
Rahul was only a DIG, and hence a superseded officer.
PERSPECTIVE
nature sadhguru
Spirituality with
trees
A
question I am frequently asked is, ‘Why is a mystic, a spiritual leader,
planting trees?’
The
reference is to Project Green Hands, an Isha environmental initiative, under
which 22.9 million trees have been planted since the year 2004 in Tamil Nadu
state.
My
usual rejoinder is, ‘In this tradition, people always attained enlightenment
under a tree. I am preparing so many people with the necessary yogic sadhana.
But where are the trees?
Slow, but steady
STOCK DOCTOR
dr gs sood
tHE
market
is going through a very tricky situation with a lot happening on the policy
front, including insurance and mining Bills being cleared and allocation of
coal blocks progressing with satisfactory speed, yet the widely held perception
of not much happening at the ground level is taking its toll. Though this may
be due to a multiplicity of factors—both global and local out playing— the
tension between the market participants and the government can be best described
in this cricket season as resulting from the former wanting to play a One-Day
International and the government having no option but to play a Test match.
New CM for Gujarat?
Bric-a-brac
young & old
anandi ben’s failing
health causes concern
Who
will be the next chief minister of Gujarat? Don’t be surprised at this
question. No doubt, Anandi Ben Patel enjoys a majority and is ruling as a chief
minister of the state. She does not have any threat from opponents as long as
Narendra Modi remains at the helm of affairs in India. Then why will she be
replaced? Sometimes in politics, one can control circumstances but health
issues are unmanageable. Sources in Ahmedabad disclose that Patel has not been
keeping well. She is fighting an undisclosed serious disease. The top BJP
leadership is aware about the health problems of the chief minister and is in
the process of relieving her. Under the circumstances, the most prominent name
emerging for the coveted post is that of Saurav Patel. He is at present the Minister
for Finance, Energy and Petrochemicals, Mines, Minerals, Cottage
Industries, Salt Industries, Printing and Stationery, Planning, Tourism and
Civil Aviation, among other portfolios. Some of these are very important
departments in the state. Saurav, interestingly, is related to the most
powerful business house, Reliance Industries. He is married to the first cousin
of Mukesh and Anil Ambani and is the son-in-law of Ramnikbhai Ambani, elder
brother of the late Dhirubhai Ambani. With the ongoing corporate war in
Gujarat, it remains to be seen if Saurav will be the next chief minister or
somebody else will be chosen.
Case of a missing aide
Bric-a-brac
young & old
kanishka singh pays a
heavy price
Where is
Kanishka Singh now? Kanishka was the most trusted aide of Rahul Gandhi, the
heir apparent of Sonia Gandhi. He is a bright young man who studied at St
Stephen’s College and did his MBA from Wharton. His father, SK Singh, was a
reputed foreign secretary of India. With humble beginnings during the Sheila
Dikshit election campaign, he finally joined Rahul’s inner coterie. Kanishka
was administrating Rahul’s political activities in his heydays.Most Congress
leaders were aware of him and knew his importance but he maintained a low
profile. Sources have disclosed that he is out of the close circle of Rahul.
How did that happen? It is learnt that when he was all-powerful, he reportedly
started asking India’s top industrialists to be in touch with him directly. Within
the Congress party, finances are looked after by a very powerful group and it
doesn’t like outsiders to interfere. It is not tolerated by Sonia at any cost.
She doesn’t want to break the existing system of fund collection and storage of
resources. However, even if annoyed by loyalists, the Congress party does not
throw them out instantly. Loyalists are transferred and accommodated. Kanishka
is thus technically transferred from Rahul and is now Priyanka Gandhi’s
assistant.
Better-connected AI
Bric-a-brac
young & old
wi-fi for modi’s plane
As far
as VIP travel is concerned, India has a long way to go. There is no dedicated
aircraft for the Prime Minister of India. Whenever or wherever he has to
travel, an aircraft is spared from the Air India fleet. Thought economical, it
has some constraints. The seating arrangement is redesigned every time as per
the needs of the passengers whenever the PM decides to travel. The aircraft
does not have world-class communication apparatus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
is very fond of electronic gadgets. He spends quite some time keeping track of
the party’s activities by using them. Whenever he is in office or at home, he
never feels any difficulty in connecting and operating the gadgets. Recently,
on one of his international trips, he discovered that he could not operate and
communicate during the flight. One of his co-travellers pointed out that most
modern aircraft today have wi-fi facilities. He enquired about it and that was
enough of an indication to the Air India officials. Sources say it took some
time but now any Air India aircraft ferrying the PM or VIPs has the most modern
wi-fi system installed.
Economical Khattar
Bric-a-brac
young & old
train travel for this
CM
Haryana’s
Chief
Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, is a man of simple living and high thinking. So
what if he wears varied spanking Modi-style jackets all the time. His
predecessor, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was just the reverse. Hooda used to travel
by Mercedes cars and the like, accompanied by about 100 security
personnel, wherever he went. The tiny state had to bear the expenses of a
high-flying chief minister. Now, Khattar and his team have adopted economical
measures and feel the message should flow from the chief minister’s office
itself. It was proposed that the Haryana government buy an aircraft to decrease
travel time for the chief minister. The government already has a Kingair
10-seater aircraft. Khattar chose to reject the proposal and told the officials
that he would prefer to travel between Delhi and Chandigarh by train and within
the state by the official car. In case of urgent work, the aircraft will be
used. The officials and the suppliers of the aircraft company are disappointed
but the state is relieved that finally Haryana has a chief minister who not
only preaches austerity but implements it in letter and spirit.
NDMC needs Chairman
...by the way
The Home Ministry has
been searching for a competent officer to replace Jalaj Shrivastva, a
1984-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre and Chairman, New Delhi Municipal
Corporation (NDMC). As NDMC chairman, an officer has access to the all-powerful
dignitaries who reside in Lutyens’ Delhi. There are many contenders for the
coveted post. It’s an additional secretary’s post so many senior officers of
the AGMUT cadre are aspiring for this prized position. There are two prominent
names in the running. The only issue is that one of the concerned officers has
served as principal secretary to Ajay Maken. Another officer who is also trying
for the post has served Uma Bharati on her staff. So hectic lobbying is on. It
has been learnt that a very senior officer, whose name emerged prominently in
the Commonwealth Games scandal, is trying to instal his own confidant, so all
the files still lying in the NDMC can be taken care of comfortably. The Home
Ministry is facing a dilemma, as whoever it is likely to choose is in one way
or another connected to Congress leaders—a natural corollary as the Congress
ruled Delhi for 15 years. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has tasked his officials
with searching for an efficient officer but they have not succeeded till now.
There are many efficient and honest officers in the AGMUT cadre but the point
is, does the Home Ministry really need such officers or are they looking for an
officer who has the right connections and recommendations? Let us wait and
watch.
Marathon meet in Haryana
...by the way
How will one feel, as
a senior officer, when he is supposed to sit the whole day to attend a marathon
meeting with the chief minister of a state and other Cabinet ministers along
with his seniormost colleagues. Obviously, it will be tiring. The new
dispensation in Haryana does not care much for the comfort and dipping
efficiency of the officers. Haryana officials have not seen such a long session
of meetings ever. The Haryana government has never believed in meetings. The
trend in the government had been such that the chief minister or the chief
secretary would brief the agenda on a one-to-one basis and the respective heads
of departments would hold a meeting to implement the briefed agenda. Manohar
Lal Khattar, the current Chief Minister of Haryana, has reversed the trend in
the last week of March. He called a full-day meeting of the Divisional
Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of Haryana. It was the longest-ever
meeting of bureaucrats to discuss the agenda of the state. The meeting is said
to have started at 9.30 in the morning and finished at 9.30 in the evening.
Bureaucrats were perplexed at the change in attitude of the new government.
Though lunch and tea were served, yet sitting for such an extended period was a
herculean task. After the meeting, some of the officers were complaining of
headaches, backaches and swollen feet. A lady officer, while exiting the
meeting, remarked to her colleague, “Why are you looking so fatigued? Just
think that we all travelled from Delhi to New York.” Everybody laughed.
Absence of equality?
...by the way
How is it that the
Department of Urban Development in the Delhi government has the most number of
Dalit (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) officers? It is surprising to
learn that the Principal Secretary, Joint Secretary (Municipal Bodies), Deputy
Secretary (Administration) as well as the Deputy Controller of Accounts are all
from the Scheduled Caste category. Had it stopped here, the officials could
understand the focus of the government. But the Special Secretary, Joint
Secretary, Additional Secretary (National Livelihood Mission) and also the
Joint Director (Planning) are all Scheduled Tribe officers. The Urban
Development Department is a very important one as it not only deals with
unauthorised colonies in Delhi but also governs the MLA Local Area Development
Funds, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,
all Municipal Corporations of Delhi, NDMC and the Jal Board. Nobody is able to
pinpoint why all the Dalit officers are being posted in only the Urban
Development Department. Not surprisingly, most of the officers have never
lived in Delhi and are not aware of the geographical nuances of the capital.
Dealing with unauthorised colonies is the most complex subject of this
department. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should take the initiative and reallocate
the Dalit officers rather than grouping them in a single department.
Alert for CVC
...by the way
The Modi government
is looking for a new Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). We learn that there
are 40 serious contenders for the post. The position has been lying vacant
since September last year and the Commission is virtually being run by its
Secretary, Alok Kumar, a 1984-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. A
strong contender is Devender Sikri, a retired 1975-batch IAS officer of the
Gujarat cadre. He has served as Secretary, Law & Justice. Sikri has also
served in Home and Women and Child Development. His Gujarat connection is an
added advantage. Also in the running is Arun Kumar Jain, a 1977-batch
Nagaland-cadre IAS officer, retired as Secretary, Women and Child Development.
Arun has vast experience of serving in Home, Prasar Bharti and Heavy
Industries. His expertise in finance is an additional advantage. Arun is also
known for his impeccable integrity. Pankaj Jain, another contender, is a
retired 1978-batch IAS officer of the J&K cadre and former Secretary, Drinking
Water and Sanitation. Pankaj is considered a fast-track officer. Vishwapati
Trivedi (1977, IAS, MP cadre) who retired as Secretary, Shipping, in November
2014 is also in the race. Trivedi has served in Finance, Commerce, Civil
Aviation and Home Affairs. There’s GC Chaturvedi, former Petroleum Secretary
(1977) and currently serving as Member, Warehousing Development Regulatory
Authority. Then there is Amarjeet Singh Lamba, a retired 1977-batch officer who
was appointed Member of Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) in 2013. He has
also served as Secretary, DONER, and Special Secretary, Agriculture. One
wonders who will be the chosen one! Files are piling up and major decisions
have to be taken. So the government needs a new CVC.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)