Friday, July 02, 2010

Minister Dinesh Trivedi says college kids would do better in health ministry than bureaucrats

IN WHAT could be described as the harshest criticism of bureaucracy by an Indian politician in a television interview during recent time, minister of state for health Dinesh Trivedi, a senior Trinamool Congress leader, termed Indian bureaucrats “ineffective” and suggested the need for secretary level officers to visit villages with Members of Parliament to have some sense of accountability.
He went ahead to say that college kids would run the health ministry better than the bureaucrats. (Read: Who is India’s health secretary K Sujatha Rao?)
“Why do we have to wait for the CBI to unearth them (about scams like Medical Council of India)? Where is the accountability for bureaucracy? Politicians are accountable as they have to go back to the people,” he said in an interview with CNN-IBN news channel.
And that’s not all. Mr Trivedi further said that bureaucrats are not innovative, and that’s a major roadblock. “They don’t understand technology. Young people fresh out of college would be able to run the health ministry better that these bureaucrats,” he said.
He also told the news channel that had his senior minister Ghulam Nabi Azad not been pro-active during the H1N1 flu and left it to the bureaucracy, there would not have been any solution to the crisis.
In a report by Indian Express, health secretary K Sujatha Rao was quoted denying the charges and said that Indian bureaucracy “was among the most scrutinised in the world” and charges of red-tapism couldn’t stand.
The report further investigated to find that the conflict between the Trinamool Congress leader and health secretary Ms Rao arose over a concept note sent by Trivedi for a web portal that he, along with the Knowledge Commission, proposed to launch. The ministry did not release money for the portal.
Also Read 

Action and Appointments
a) National Security Advisor, Shivshankar Menon will be visiting Beijing as Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of India, from 3rd to 6th July, 2010.
b) ACC has also approved the appointment of Jayant Prasad, a 1976 batch IFS as special secretary in the ministry of external affairs.
c) Arun Kumar Misra, a 1976 batch UP cadre IAS, presently Principal Adviser, Planning Commission, has been appointed as secretary department of drinking water and sanitation in the ministry of rural development
d) Bijoy Chatterjee, a 1973 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and secretary in the department of chemicals and petrochemicals in the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers will hold the additional charge of the post of secretary, department of fertilizers during the period of absence on leave of S Krishnan, a 1975 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS from July 10 to July 14, 2010.

5 comments:

  1. This holier than thou attitude of the MOS for health is not healthy, but sickening, to say the least.Sweeping judgments and irrational generalissations seem to be the hallmark of his ilk and the order of the day.Like Chadwell,and his illustrious predecessor, Ramadoss,this gentleman promises not to"deviate in to sense"

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  2. There is pent up frustration among people in general and almost every part of the system in particular,when it comes to IAS. Yes it is against democracy when palatial Bungalows,Fleet of cars along with whole lot of paraphernalia is grabbed by the IAS in districts even today when MP is not allotted a house in District headquarter and not allowed to have red beacon atop his car. Generally collector is entiteled to Type -IV house which only should be allotted to him and bungllows should be allotted to heads of Zila-Panchayat..that will be according to spirit of democracy.

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  3. If you have experience of interacting with IAS of West Bengal cadre and any Cadre of north Indian state or states like Orrissa,AP you would notice that their Bengal cadre officers' attitude is different from rest.In states like West Bengal IAS are kept in their limits by communists so they are always humble but else where they behave like demigods and tend to superimpose themselves even on technical-services officers such as CMHO or Sup.Engineers in Districts...

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  4. scap the entire selection process of these bureucrats...it is dodddering old and absolutely unreasonable...wonder how we still have it...look at the kind of people it selects and rejects...the best just have to leave foor better opps outside india...disgusted...while the unexperieced,unrefined,3 time 4 time loosers make it to babudom!and look where they have taken us...corruption thrives under their noses and they remain shut!sick...governance is sick...scrap the upsc sham...lets face it...bring in the best we have...do it now...before it is too late.

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  5. Yes! Flippant demigods...some of us experienced the worst. They understand everything, they poke their noses in everything that is supposed to be done and become ridiculous dabblers in due course...

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