Dilip Cherian | Supreme Court restrains Centre from acting against Bengal babu

Though the NDA government is now focused on the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, it has not taken its eyes off West Bengal. The political rivalry apart, the NDA government is keen to take on West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee by taking disciplinary action against former state chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay.

The babu failed to attend a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had visited the state in May to review the destruction caused by a cyclone. Mr Bandyopadhyay was ordered by the miffed Centre to report to Delhi on deputation, but he chose to retire instead. Promptly, he was appointed special adviser to Banerjee, and the face-off drifted into the courts, first the Calcutta high court, and now the Supreme Court.

The apex court however has asked the Centre not to precipitate disciplinary proceedings against Bandyopadhyay, even as it hears an appeal by the Centre challenging the Calcutta high court order that stayed the babu’s transfer to Delhi. A small reprieve for Bandyopadhyay but the issue is not likely to be resolved soon.

Return of the prodigal

The appointment of former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pande as head of a three-member committee to appraise new standards for defining economically weaker sections (EWS) has put to rest the chatter that followed his exit earlier in 2021. At the time it was widely believed that Mr Pande was out of favour with the political dispensation when he was allowed to retire in February 2021 without being given the normal extension given to a finance secretary-designate if he is retiring on Budget-eve. Instead, Tarun Bajaj was given the additional responsibility and Mr Pande was let go of.

It is felt that Mr Pande got the axe because he was believed to be responsible for the snafus in the new I-T portal that did not function for months after his tenure ended. The government discovered that the glitches in the portal had less to do with Mr Pande than the integration of the old and new operating systems and softened its stance against him.

His return as head of the committee, which also includes principal economic adviser Sanjeev Sanyal and Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) member secretary V.K. Malhotra, is a sign that all is forgiven and that Mr Pande still enjoys the trust of the government.

Kerala govt upsets babus in pay scale row

The Kerala government has not only miffed the Centre with the transfer of Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer Bennichen Thomas (as reported in this column on December 9) but also IAS and IPS officers in the state by raising the basic pay of the recently created Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) officers. In a recent move, the Pinarayi Vijayan government fixed the salary scale and it is now equivalent to that of all-India service officers who have put in at least nine years of service.

According to the new scale fixed by the state cabinet, an entry-level IAS officer draws a basic salary of Rs 56,100. On the other hand, a KAS officer at the entry-level would draw a much higher basic pay of Rs 81,800 with a 10 per cent grade pay and other allowances.

Sources say that the IPS Officers’ Association and the state chapters of the IAS and IFoS officers’ associations have demanded the Kerala government to reconsider its decision. Dr B. Ashok and M.G. Ramanickam, president and secretary of the state IAS association, respectively, have urged the government to rescind the order, claiming “the disparity in pay structure would upset administrative equations”. They further argue that since KAS is a feeder service, there is no logic in fixing the salary of KAS officers at a higher level.

The government, so far, is going ahead with the move, though critics claim that the decision was taken ignoring the recommendations of the state finance department. Guess the IAS and IPS officers will have to assert their claims more strongly to make the government listen.