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| Non-local IAS officers holding key positions contributing to "governance deficit" | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 17; While the baton of administration handed over to an influential group of non-local officers at the crucial decision-making levels in Jammu and Kashmir, the state is presently reeling under shortage of Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers as around 22 IAS and IPS officers are retiring after reaching their age of superannuation in next couple of months .
At the same time Jammu and Kashmir seems to be in the midst of a fresh debate on bureaucratic set-up in the state, especially in the backdrop of accusations that the state government has exclusively left the state administration at the mercy of non-local officers, a major contributory factor to "governance deficit". Twin problems of deficient cadres and non-locals holding the key positions in state administration lead to governance deficit in Jammu and Kashmir, said a senior local officer wishing anonymity.
"The main reason behind non implementation of decisions being taken at political level, is the ignorance of non-local IAS officers and their indifferent attitude towards the local environ" said the official.
Surrender Nath an IPS officer who latter came the governor of Punjab and died in an aircraft crash has made a comment on running of the state police. "It is only the local officer who can run the state police force in an efficient manner" the officer quoted Surrendernath as having said. Non-local officers, the officer said, are an alienated lot, when you have put in place the non-locals at the policy making level and the policies are not percolated down to the grassroots level, the result is "governance deficit".
Another senior officer said that local officers are doing a drudging job but are not being made part of the planning process which results in discontent and disconnect. " General Administration Department (GAD) has issued circular instructions years back that the Special secretaries and Additional Secretaries in the administrative departments should be made part of the planning process but it has been in breech of the GAD circuler instructions that the senior and suppertime scale KAS officers are being kept away from the process" the officer said and added that the result is that once the same special or additional secretaries are appointed as deputy commissioners or HODs, they completely devoid of the concept of planning as this part of the is denied to them in the civil secretariat.
"The arrangement of placing the non-locals at key position as for the policy making is concerned which is adhoc in nature, has created a lot of confusion and chaos in the administrative departments" said the official.
" It would have been appropriate and a good chance was available to the present political dispensation( taking into account the dearth of IAS and IPS officers), to place suppertime KAS officers which is 20 in number to man the different departments in the civil secretariat, the officer said.
"There is a problem of disconnect that it breeds. The non-local officers mostly happen to be ignorant of the ground realities vis-à-vis governance, thus leading to governance deficit," the officer said. "They largely happen to draw projects, plans and policies from their offices, rather than taking inputs from ground."
A number of non-local Indian Administrative Service and IPS officers are holding some of the vital positions in the state bureaucracy and police at different levels of decision-making while a Jammu and Kashmir-based officer is hardly visible-except for a few places like the Director General of Police, Kuleep Khuda.
In a case in point, the IAS officer BB Vyas is holding seven important portfolios at the moment. He is the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Reconstruction Agency and Commissioner/Secretary to the Planning and Development Department, Secretary Information, Secretary Estates, Hospitality and Protocol departments. On the other hand suppertime KAS officers are rendered jobless, placed as Additional Commissioners in Divisional Commissioners offices in Srinagar and Jammu.
" The government on one hand is claiming to localise thje governance and on the other hand the local officers are completely sidelined, they don't have any participatory role, they are pushed to the wall. Even some blue eyed non-cadre officers are placed in the cadres" said the official.
Then there is another interesting tale of re-employing the retired people. Very recently Government appointed retiring IAS officer Basharat Ahmad Dar as Managing Director Power Development Corporation (PDC). It is astounding to see a bureaucrat heading a corporation that would have been headed by either a technical person or Financial Expert. Similarly the list of retire officers appointed as Officers on Special Duty (OSD) with various ministries in unending. Bashir Ahmad Bandey (retired) OSD with Minister for Industry and Commerce, Muhammad Yusuf Lone OSD with Minister for Agriculture, Manohar Lal Sharma OSD with Minister of State Manohar Lal Sharma, Mr. Arore Private Secretary to Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Bita Ram OSD with Minister for Health and Horticulture, VK Abroll Consultant PHE department.
"See the question is about empowerment of the officers from Jammu and Kashmir," says a senior government officer, insisting not to be named. "When you sideline the state-based senior officers (suppertime KAS) and inducted IAS officers who are surprisingly governed by different set of rules from IAS , you are naturally disempowering them. And this disempowerment would obviously breed disillusionment and disappointment, which is a case in the state administration today."
This indifferent attitude towards the local officers may put the administration in serious trouble once the IAS officers retire in one-go in next couple of months. |
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