Saving Bureaucrats
Recent media reports in Indian Express on US
Roofs Limited’s business interests in Arunachal Pradesh government took many of
the old time observers by surprise. It came as a shock because this daily in
its previous avatar, The Sentinel ARUNACHAL, filed several reports spanning
three months, about the murky deals between Government of Arunachal Pradesh and
US Roofs Limited--US Roof’s JV unit,
APIDCoL in RTI dock (ITANAGAR, Jan 28, 2011); APIDFCL and US Roofs: An unholy nexus? (ITANAGAR,
Dec 5, 2010); State Guest House, Mumbai: Destined to doom (dated ITANAGAR, Nov
30, 2010); The ghost of Arunachal House in Mumbai is here to haunt (ITANAGAR,
Nov 29, 2010).However, all the above
media reports were greeted with muted responses from all concerned- students
union, civil society, business chambers and others.
What is surprising is the late reaction of the City and
Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), a Government of Maharashtra Company
that signed the lease agreement with Directorate of Industries, Arunachal
Pradesh, on August 1, 1997 to grant lease of plot No 19, Sector 30 A, Vashi in
Navi Mumbai. However, the plot of land which belonged to the Directorate of
Industries was put-up for bid by Directorate of Textile and Handicraft (DTH)
vide memo no. DTH/DEVE/108/92/2318-2, April 18, 2006. All these were done
without proper documentation. And in a twist of event, DTH transferred
the property to APIDFCL, which in-turn completed a flawed global bid process
within a month. The Letter of Intent (LoI) was issued to M/s US Roofs Limited
within a fortnight but only to cancel the same lease agreement within a period
of 6 months vides Order No. IND/DEV/108/92/(pt11) 6478-82, dated January 05,
2007. Intent of M/s Roofs Limited was very clear when they applied for
BOOT, not BOT. ‘Ownership’ was what the developer was interested in. Clause No
31 in the revised agreement of August 2007 brings out their intent into action
wherein it is stated that M/s Roofs Ltd shall be entitled to mortgage the plot.
Above case is cited to
underline the fact that it is the government officials who are on dock, not
those who pulled the strings from behind the curtain-the politicians. In this
case, everyone involved is known to all those who desire to know but there’s no
record. Therefore, Supreme Court’s recent ruling on a public interest
litigation (PIL) filed by 83 retired bureaucrats including former Cabinet
Secretary T S R Subramanian need to be hailed. SC empowered top bureaucrats to record
in writing the oral instruction of political bosses on files so as not to be
hounded later on for a particular decision. The SC said that such recording of
political instructions by bureaucrats will also help in promoting transparency
and will allow public access correct information.
This case is of 2006-07. 2013 is no different for bureaucrats of
the state. Many of the young officers from state cadre and central cadre are
under pressure to clear all kinds of files. And those who do not toe the line
are subjected to transfers and postings. Look no further, go to police
headquarter and check how many officers have been picked and dropped several
times over the last 6 months itself.
In Arunachal Pradesh, issue of governance is a much debated
subject and tribe of bureaucracy is much maligned for its inefficiency and
partisan actions. Under such circumstances, the path-breaking verdict of the
SC, by a bench headed by Justice KS Radhakrishnan, directing sweeping reforms
in the functioning of bureaucracy, asked the Parliament to enact a law to
regulate postings, transfers and disciplinary action against bureaucrats.
SC asked the Centre and all State governments along with Union Territories to
issue directions within three months for providing fixed tenure to civil
servants. The Bench also said Civil Services Board be constituted at the Centre
and State-levels. The Bench also comprising Justice P C Ghose said giving a
fixed minimum tenure to a civil servant will not only promote professionalism
and efficiency, but also good governance.
It is hoped that, on the eve of electioneering year, the state
government would comply would SC ruling, without compromising on time-line. And
it is hoped that bureaucrats would start writing the oral instructions of the
political bosses henceforth.
No comments:
Post a Comment