Dilli Ka Babu: Blazing a new trail

Barely a month into his new job, Delhi police commissioner Alok Kumar Verma is trying to put the Bassi-era behind him. His predecessor B.S. Bassi had a turbulent tenure, with regular run-ins with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal over jurisdiction issues. His detractors accused him of being partisan, of toeing the Centre’s line and being at odds with the Delhi government. His controversial role in the Jawaharlal Nehru University row probably lost him a post-retirement sinecure as information commissioner.

Unlike Mr Bassi, he is keeping away from the media limelight while bringing about sweeping changes in the police set-up. Sources say that officers who were considered close to Mr Bassi fear a witch-hunt. Already Mr Verma has appointed a new spokesperson, special commissioner Taj Hassan who heads the crime branch, replacing deputy commissioner of police Rajan Bhagat.

He has also abolished the post of DG Scale Coordination, wherein special commissioners heading a unit only reported to him and is planning to create two wings in the law and order department. Mr Verma is clearly trying to distance himself from his predecessor’s divisive legacy.

Babu eyes politics

Being a whistleblower can be frustrating, as many babus have discovered. The system is impermeable and the cost can be too high. The examples of Ashok Khemka and Sanjiv Chaturvedi are vivid examples of the price upright babus have to pay for simply doing their job. While Mr Khemka and Mr Chaturvedi have remained in the service, Anand Rai, who blew the lid off the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, has chosen to quit.

Dr Rai, a doctor with the state health department, has announced that he is quitting to create a political party and will contest the state Assembly elections in 2018. There is a precedent here, too. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal quit his job in the revenue service and became a civil activist and finally a hugely successful politician.

Dr Rai, like Mr Kejriwal, believes that the system has to be changed from within, and political power is the only instrument to attain this goal. But unlike other babus who join politics, it is impressive that Dr Rai has rejected existing parties and started his own.

Cheap housing

A housing society floated by top Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers in Kochi, Kerala, has been allotted prime government land at throwaway prices. It has created a stir in poll-bound Kerala, with allegations that it may be a scam like the infamous Adarsh housing scandal in Mumbai.

The society is headed by inspector-general of police Ajith Kumar and has many senior IAS, IPS and Indian Foreign Service officers as its members. According to critics, their objection is not to the grant of land to a housing society of babus, but that the city development authority has gone ahead and allotted the land without due diligence and at a highly discounted rate. It is also being alleged that the proposed housing project is in violation of town planning norms.

Apparently, the land can only be used for light industry and not to construct multi-storied residential flats. As of now, since the government seems to be going ahead with the project, it is likely that it will become a hot political issue in the forthcoming Assembly elections.