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| The IAS advantage | | | Dilip Cherian
This is bound to further cleave the divide between the IAS and the rest of the civil services. But apparently the IAS lobby has managed to corner more than its legitimate share of salary gains from recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. The feeling is gaining ground that the clever boys as the ministry of personnel and training have circumvented the Union Cabinet and ensured that they retain the edge over other services. What it boils down to is a matter of interpretation; rather, how the IAS babus have interpreted the Cabinet’s recommendations. On the other hand, the IPS and IFS lobbies are blaming the IAS for engaging in "machinations".
Apparently the Union Cabinet approved only two additional increments for the IAS cadre, but the ministry of personnel babus have "interpreted" these as four as scripted in the notifications issued by the ministry. Consequently there is a cost to the exchequer for this, which sources conservatively estimate at Rs 12 crores, and which has not been approved by the Cabinet! Small crumbs but major spoils in a turf war. Naturally, the anti-IAS lobby, which has been crying foul ever since the salary hikes were announced, has got an added fillip. Even as charges fly it is clear that the IAS versus others debate is not likely to end anytime soon. Watch this space for updates!
Cop versus Cop
The Mumbai anti-terrorism squad (ATS) which was set up to combat terrorism and gather intelligence, has been at the receiving end for failing to solve the bomb blast cases. This, because it has become just another police department preoccupied with routine procedures like arrests and court remands. Apparently, all the arrests made in the bomb blasts were made by the Mumbai crime branch. You, dear readers, know our view on this — encouraging red tape can throttle even the best department. According to reliable sources, the present crime branch chief Rakesh Maria lost out to his rival Hemant Karkare to become ATS chief and is keen to score brownie points over Karkare, which is why the ATS is always sidelined, they say, whenever a suspect is arrested for involvement in the blasts. Observers also note yet another reason for the turf war.
The ATS, headed by Karkare, has two branches, each with a separate head. The Mumbai branch reports to DGP A.N. Roy through the Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor, while the ATS team for the rest of the state reports to the state’s intelligence commissioner D. Sivanandhan and the DGP. Since the ATS chief now has three bosses, he naturally ends up giving more importance to Roy than to Gafoor or state intelligence commissioner D. Sivanandhan. That, in turn, is a bone of contention with the ignored two. Given the internal strife, should we be surprised that the Mumbai Police is struggling to put up a united front against the bane of terrorism? |
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