news details |
|
|
| Ministers, top bureaucrats need to undergo training | | |
NIRBHAY JAMMUAL
The performance of senior bureaucrats and the ministers in the meeting presided over by the union Home Minister, P.Chidambaram, in Srinagar recently is not a small howler.It is a major lapse on the part of the bureaucrats and the ministers. Omar Abdullah had gone to the meeting fully pr epared. His task was easier than those of the bureaucrats because he had crammed his speech which referred to the future plans of the Government and the problems the state faced. Had Chidambaram asked Omar Abdullah what was the plan outlay for the state in 2007-2008 the Chief Minister may have responded in the same way the bureaucrats had done. Well to expect bureaucrats to rote all details pertaining to the departments they head is not possible .But at the same time Omar Abdullah led Government needs to evolve a definite pattern which could help the ministers and the bureaucrats to be able to know something of everything if not everything of everything. A bureaucrat heading the Power Department should have on his finger tips the total generation, optimum capacity for generating electricity from each project. The name of the new projects and their installed capacity. Future planning. The gap between availability and demand.
What holds good for power development holds good for other departments. Bureaucrats need to know the total number of industrial units in the state, number of sick units, nature of production and allied activities and problems. It is not necessary that people like Chidambaram would be visiting Kashmir of and on for putting the bureaucrats and ministers to test. The ministers and bureaucrats need to have complete knowledge of their departments. Besides this they need to have basic knowledge on the population of the state, climatic conditions of different regions, community wise population, nature of agricultural and industrial sectors etc. And for enabling the bureaucrats and the ministers to have basic knowledge about their departments and their activities it is necessary that the bureaucrats be allowed to complete their tenure. They should not be shifted from one department to another frequently because it may take at least six months for them to learn about the various aspects and activities of the department. This way fix at least two-year term for the bureaucrats. Similarly the portfolios of ministers may not be reshuffled atleast before two years unless the situation demanded.
After every one year each senior bureaucrat be asked to go in for some refresher course for which facilities may be set up in the IMPA in Srinagar and Jammu. In IMPA the teachers and experts could brief the bureaucrats about departmental activities, regulations and laws to be used while dealing with cases in the departments. Such refresher courses be also introduced for the benefit of ministers. After after each course internal assessment scheme be introduced for the bureaucrats and the ministers. The results of the assessment reports be sent to the Chief Minister who would sit in judgment as far as promotion and release of increments are concerned. Those with better assessment report be given incentives. Those with worst reports be penalized minister with worst assessment report could lose the cabinet post. A bureaucrat with worst assessment report could be posted to a difficult station. It should be left to the Chief Minister to have day-to-day assessment of each minister. The Chief Secretary should be asked to keep an eagle's eye on each bureaucrat and ensure that they remain well versed with the departmental activities. Why the bureaucrats are usually indolent? They are so because they are simply signing machines. The cases are built right from the clerical seat, processed by sectional officers, whettted by the under secretary leaving the job of signing the proposal to the senior bureaucrat. The case is similar to the ministerial activities. This needs to be changed
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
