Nature-loving officer

...by the way

Ajit Balaji Joshi, a 2003-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre and Deputy Commissioner, Jind, is a dynamic officer. A native of Veet in Karmala taluka, Solapur, Maharashtra, he always does something exceptional and inspiring. When he was posted as DC, Jhajjar, he saw many beautiful migratory birds at the Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary in his district. Joshi thought of a pocket-size book on 287 species of beautiful birds. He has brought out the excellently planned and designed 156-page book, titled Birds of Bhindawas, on migratory birds. It was a tough task to bring out such a pictorial and detailed book on the birds; it required comprehensive knowledge of the subject. So Joshi roped in the Ela Foundation of Pune to complete this tough and complicated job. The pictorial book required good photographers, so Ela Foundation assigned the job to 19 experienced photographers to shoot 20 threatened bird species and 33 species endemic to South Asia. Readers will be delighted to see the beautiful and rare rosy pipit, blue-cheeked bee-eater, and oriental turtle dove along with many other birds in the book. The Governor of Haryana, Kaptan Singh Solanki, Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Javadekar released the book with much fanfare in Delhi. g

http://www.gfilesindia.com/frmArticleDetails.aspx?id=1310&Name=...by%20the%20way

New chief of Delhi police

...by the way

Who will be the new Police Commissioner of Delhi as the present incumbent, Bhim Sain Bassi, a 1977-batch officer, is retiring in February 2016? There are five strong contenders for the prestigious post but the IPS officers—1979-batch Alok Verma, Director General of Tihar Jail, and the 1984-batch Dharmendra Kumar—have emerged as the frontrunners to control the 77,000-strong police force with a budget of Rs. 5,372 crore. The dynamic Deepak Mishra, a batchmate of Dharmendra, is also in the race and, considering his clout, he can’t be ignored. Though Vimla Mehra is the seniormost, she is retiring on the same day as Bassi. A 1982-batch IPS officer, JK  Sharma, is also on the seniority list but his chances have been reduced due to a CBI inquiry against him. Two other 1984-batch officers, Ajay Kumar Singh, Special Commissioner of Police, General Administration, and Karnail Singh, heading the Enforcement Directorate (ED), are also competent for the top post. It’s to be seen whether Karnail will be eager to join Delhi Police, leaving the ED. Sources have disclosed that Bassi favours Dharmendra as they are on good terms since the days when Bassi served as Deputy Police Commissioner and Dharmendra was his Deputy in the North District. Finally, who will get to the top, reasoned a former CP of Delhi, depends on what the IB briefs the PMO and HM and what are the targets of the government in the given political scenario of Delhi. g

http://www.gfilesindia.com/frmArticleDetails.aspx?id=1311&Name=...by%20the%20way

Disorder by orderlies

...by the way

New Moti Bagh is a much sought-after address for senior civil servants in Delhi. It’s a beautifully constructed and well-maintained colony in Lutyens Delhi. The houses are allotted to IAS, IPS, military and paramilitary force officers. This has created a peculiar situation within the campus. The IPS, military and paramilitary force officers have a sanctioned number of orderlies to serve the senior officers in their homes, whereas the IAS officers don’t get any such assistants. As one of the residents described the scenario, the orderlies can be seen in the queues at the milk booths and grocery shops with senior officers in the mornings. The real issue is that the orderlies have fixed timings for the supply of their meals/rations by their companies, so there is a rush of trucks to supply breakfast in the morning in the colony. These trucks emit smoke and noise which is becoming a nuisance for morning walkers. The hilarious part is that these orderlies work in the high rise towers and cannot be called out to collect their breakfast so the supply officers have evolved a new technique by hanging the breakfast on the branches of trees. As and when an orderly gets time, he comes and takes his breakfast/lunch/dinner from the tree. So, if you visit the area in the morning, you can see eggs, milk and bread hanging on different trees. Does anybody have the solution to this inconvenience? g

http://www.gfilesindia.com/frmArticleDetails.aspx?id=1312&Name=...by%20the%20way

Spat over seating

...by the way

Whose orders run during the Prime Minister’s tours, especially when he travels abroad? The Chief Protocol Office (CPO) generally manages the show and decides when and where, and who will meet the Prime Minister. The CPO also decides the sitting arrangements, keeping in mind the protocol at public functions abroad. There are small issues which cause some sparks sometimes, especially regarding sitting arrangements within the aircraft. Whoever is travelling with the Prime Minister desires a VVIP seat. In April, when the Prime Minister was travelling to Germany, one of the senior protocol officers changed the sitting arrangements and, due to the change, the Special Protection Group (SPG) which manages the security of the Prime Minister, was shifted to the economy class. The senior IPS officer of the SPG came to know of the changed seating arrangement and said it was not acceptable. There was a virtual fight between the protocol officer and the SPG officer during the tour in the presence of the Indian Ambassador to Germany, Vijay Gokhale. Finally, the SPG prevailed as onboard security within the aircraft was under their purview. Gokhale pacified both officers and the SPG’s suggestion was followed: the SPG group sat just behind the VVIPs. g

http://www.gfilesindia.com/frmArticleDetails.aspx?id=1313&Name=...by%20the%20way

7th pay commission: How full are the coffers?

Over 40 years ago, a meeting of the central government employees was organised at the Boat Club in New Delhi. It was the time when the 3rd Pay Commission report was to be announced and Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister. People were enthusiastic and had gathered to hear an address by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In his inimitable style, Vajpayee narrated an interesting story. It went thus: “On pay day, a man took his salary and headed home.

Read more...