Dilli Ka Babu: Change in store

With barely a month left for the formation of a new government, babus in Dilli are preparing for a major revamp which will inevitably follow. Certainly we can expect sweeping changes in the Prime Minister’s Office and in key Central ministries, as the new government begins to grapple with kick-starting the economy. Observers expect most of the upheavals to take place in the defence, finance and home ministries.

The biggest change, of course, will be a new Cabinet secretary, since the incumbent Ajit Seth is on an extended term which ends in mid-June.

Usually the government announces the appointment at least a couple of weeks in advance. Babus are wondering whether the new government will go by seniority in appointing Mr Seth’s successor. If seniority indeed is the criterion, then most likely Sutanu Behuria, a 1976-batch IAS officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre, will be named as Cabinet secretary. But as of now babus can only be sure that change is in store.

The exact nature of the change remains a subject of speculation.

Low Priority

Remember the outrage in Dilli following the racist murder of young Nido Tania from Arunachal Pradesh? The government had announced setting up a committee headed by former IAS officer M.P. Bezbaruah to address the issue of racial discrimination in cities. But as soon as the murder went off the media’s radar, the government’s resolve too seems to have crumbled. After regular meetings and consultations with people from the Northeast across various cities, the committee seems to be running out of steam.

Those in the know say that the committee has not met since March, the month it was expected to submit its report. Curiously, even some members of the committee are not sure why the panel has stopped working. S. Saha, deputy secretary in the home ministry and secretary of the committee, did not have an answer when asked by student leaders from the Northeast why the committee had suspended work. While the babus, typically, are not saying anything, it does seem that the issue is no longer a priority with the government.

Double Chaos

The confusion among Andhra Pradesh’s bureaucrats over the bifurcation of the state has deepened with the Supreme Court’s order on declaring the results of municipal elections only after the two-phase polling for Lok Sabha elections is over. Interestingly, unlike the IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service officers, their counterparts in the Indian Revenue Service have not been touched by the restructuring since their work is not dependent on geographical boundaries but on business potential.

But there is much confusion over the fate of chief secretary P.K. Mohanty whose extension of service was unsuccessfully challenged in the state High Court. Had Dr Mohanty not got an extension, the position would have gone to chief commissioner of land administration I.Y.R. Krishan Rao. It is hoped that the prevailing confusion will end once the 21 committees set up to oversee the bifurcation process submit their reports by the month-end.