No hard cash, Bihar bureaucrats own cows, rifles, TVS Scooty!

IF YOU thought you would spot billionaires by scanning asset declaration papers of Bihar bureaucrats you are wrong. As declaration of assets including movable ones are being uploaded in state government websites, you would instead notice how bureaucrats in Bihar have a wide range of asset class from cash and jewellery to cows and rifles.

Most of the assets are traditional in nature --- flats, GPF, NSS, postal savings, LIC policies, vehicles etc. with a little exposure to equity market.

Significantly, state water resources secretary and 1979 batch IAS Afzal Amanullah owns a rifle, a revolver and a double barrel gun. Amanullah was the principal secretary in the department of home between 2006 and 2009. Also, Magadh division commissioner and 1989 batch Bihar cadre IAS Vivek Singh also owns a revolver. Thanks to his writing skills, he earns Rs 1 lakh per year as royalty from his earlier publications.

Another interesting entry in asset class is possession of cows and calves by bureaucrats. Muzaffarpur DM and 1997 batch IAS Santosh Kumar Mall cannot match Lalu Prasad’s possession of domestic animals, but his wife seems to have a passion for pets as she possesses two cows and two calves! Banka DM and 2006 batch IAS Adesh Titarmare too owns two cows and a TVS Scooty!

Dramatic Move: Actor IAS V Venu as a manipulative contractor

IMAGINE an IAS officer taking a dramatic move of donning the role of a shrewd contractor who tries to manipulate bureaucracy and politics! During the recent Bharat Rang Mahotsav, a theatre festival organized by the National School of Drama in New Delhi, Kerala’s tourism secretary Dr V Venu, a 1990 batch IAS, donned that role of a manipulative contractor as he acted in a Malayalam play ‘Palangal’, (bridges), an adaptation of the work of famous poet K Ayyappa Panicker.

Directed by D Reghoothaman and staged by Abhinaya theatres, Thiruvananthapuram, ‘Palangal’ depicts the events that surround the proposed construction of a bridge where Dr Venu came to the centrestage, literally.

The bureaucrat, who studied medicine surgery before getting into IAS, told media that he was an actor during the college days, but discontinued his passion thanks to the mounting work pressure. But he chose to revive his talent on stage once he joined the culture department in the state about three years ago. He was also in the Central deputation and worked as deputy secretary in the ministry of tourism and culture in 2003-04. Later, he was promoted to a director level post, deputy director general, in the ministry of tourism in New Delhi.

Thanks to his personal interest in acting, Dr Venu has initiated a programme under which a number of Kerala’s award-winning theatre directors performed plays in UK, South Korea, Japan and Russia recently.

So will the IAS-cum-actor stage a play for the global audience too, for promoting tourism in the God’s own country?

If you know a bureaucrat who has a private passion whether in the realm of music, theatre, art, or anything else, kindly write to babu.blogger1@gmail.com

11 senior officials transferred in Bihar

In a major reshuffle in bureaucracy in Bihar, chief minister Nitish Kumar has transferred 11 senior bureaucrats, including principal secretary Girish Shankar. State’s urban development and housing principal secretary Afzal Amanullah will now hold the important post of a cabinet coordination. Amitabh Verma, principal secretary to the animal husbandry department, will be given additional charge of cooperative department, whereas R K Khandelwal will be secretary to the revenue department.

Greener pasture: 700 civil servants in India play golf regularly

IF YOU thought bureaucrats love only cricket, get your facts correct! About 700 civil servants including IAS, IFS and IPS, regularly play golf in eight zones of the country earmarked by All India Civil Services Golf Society. Even in Delhi and NCR alone, about 250 bureaucrats or former bureaucrats happen to be avid golfers out of which about 15 are secretaries or secretary-equivalent officers. Among the high profile bureaucrats who could even compete with corporate honchos in golf include deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, revenue secretary P V Bhide, former expenditure secretary Sanjiv Mishra among others. Several retired bureaucrats such as former industry secretary Ajay Dua, former finance secretary and current Hyundai India president Ashok Jha, former cabinet secretary and Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi, and former Delhi police chief Ajay Raj Sharma are familiar faces in Delhi’s golf circles. Even former Comptroller and Auditor General V N Kaul is said to be seen on the green courses. Significantly, civil servants now just don’t wait for retirement to play golf, and instead visit the courses regularly despite busy schedules. For the last four years, pan-India golf competitions have been organized, and winners get some exciting prizes including holiday packages to hills. But yes, no outside spectator is allowed in any such intra-civil servants’ golf tournaments. The only exception is a spouse who also happens to be a civil servant! Jamia teachers oppose nomination of a bureaucrat as Vice Chancellor Fourteen teachers of Jamia Millia Islamia have opposed the government’s move to consider a bureaucrat for the post of Vice Chancellor of the University. In an appeal to President Pratibha Patil, they have seriously objected to the government’s recent move, and argued that academic centres must be headed by academicians and not bureaucrats, a media report said. Three bureaucrat contenders for Jamia's top job include Bihar’s home secretary Afzal Amanullah, retired IAS officer Najeeb Jung and Bihar's state information commissioner, Mohd. Shakeel Ahmed. babu.blogger1@gmail.com

3 bureaucrats eye Vice Chancellor’s post of Jamia Millia Islamia University

CALL it a battle of three IAS to clinch the prestigious post of vice chancellor (VC) at Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university. Bihar’s principal secretary in home department Afzal Amanullah, retired IAS officer Najeeb Jung and Bihar’s state information commissioner Mohd Shakeel Ahmad have figured in the list of the short-listed candidates, according to media reports published on Sunday. The post of VC fell vacant as the incumbent’s tenure ended on June 9, 2009. A search committee under the chairmanship of former UGC chairman Professor Yashpal, recommended six names including three bureaucrats. According to the reports, Amanullah, a 1979 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, is a postgraduate in economics and public administration in addition to have held an LLB degree. Mr Jung, an IAS from Madhya Pradesh cadre, has a PhD degree in energy economics from Oxford University. He was a joint secretary (exploration) in the petroleum ministry.

Babus In Demand: A JS or a Major General can apply for CMD's post of Goa Shipyard Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) is seeking qualified candidates for the post of Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), Goa Shipyard Ltd in pay scale of Rs 25750-650-30950. Minimum age of the candidate is 45 years, and the maximum age should not be more than 58 years for internal candidates and not more than 57 years for others. The last date of submission of the applications is 20th July, 2009. Notwithstanding the qualifications and experience prescribed, government officers of the level of Joint Secretary in government of India or officers on equivalent scale of pay or Major General in the Army or equivalent rank in Navy/Air Force on the date of vacancy with adequate experience in the relevant field will be eligible for consideration on immediate absorption basis, the advertisement said. In fact, Goa Shipyard Limited, a company under defence ministry’s department of defence production, manufactures quality ships and hi-tech components for defence and commercial sectors at competitive prices. Government of India has 51.09% stake in the company. You can get the details from Public Enterprises Selection Board’s website.