Nitish Kumar’s Right to Service Bill to punish lazy bureaucrats in Bihar

THE Central government may have failed to introduce Civil Services Bill which was drafted almost two years ago, but Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar riding high on his landslide victory is moving ahead fast in undertaking massive administrative reforms in his state.

Bihar government plans to introduce a Right to Service Bill, which envisages a stipulated time for services to citizens, such as issuing a ration card, power connection and birth and death certificates. And once the Bill is passed, there will be a major crackdown on efficient and lazy bureaucracy in the state. Currently, citizens need to wait for a long time to get these basic services, but this new Act will ensure severe punishment for bureaucrats who fail to deliver those basic services on stipulated time.

The Central government’s Civil Services Bill is however different in nature. Indian bureaucrats have been closely watching the development related to the Bill as it envisages to break them free from the clutches of their political masters in matters related to transfers among others.

A number of former bureaucrats including ex-revenue secretary NK Singh (1964 batch IAS) and Ram Chandra Prasad Singh or RCP, (1984 batch IAS), are close confidantes of Nitish Kumar who guide him on administrative measures for the state. Both Singh and Ram Chandra Prasad Singh are now Rajya Sabha MPs.

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What Centre wants through Civil Services Bill?  

Will bureaucrats be punished through demotion?

Why is the delay? 

CBI website hacked?

The website of India’s leading investigative agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has been reportedly hacked by a group who calls themselves “Pakistani Cyber Army”. No official statement has been issued so far about who are these hackers, or whether the server of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been hacked. Significantly, NIC is the root server which controls most Indian government sites.

The CBI is one of the investigative agencies that are currently probing 2G Spectrum Scam, Bribe-for-Loan scam and Commonwealth Games scam. Only a few days ago, Amar Pratap Singh, a 1974 batch IPS officer from Jharkhand cadre, was appointed as the new Director of the agency replacing Ashwani Kumar.

Decision to introduce Civil Services Bill pending; But why?

THE government has not yet given the final call whether Civil Services Bill which has already been drafted would be introduced in Parliament or not. Minister of State in the ministry of personnel, public grievances & pensions Prithviraj Chavan informed it in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Significantly, the minister did not elaborate why no decision on introducing the Bill was taken despite the draft was ready. Civil servants in India are closely watching the development related to the Bill as it envisages to break them free from the clutches of their political masters in matters related to transfers among others. The minister informed the House that the Civil Services Bill envisages to provide a statutory basis for the regulation of the Civil Services in India and regulate their appointment and conditions of the service in addition to laying down the fundamental values of civil services, the Civil Services Code of Ethics, Civil Service Management Code etc. What's further proposed is to set up a Civil Services Authority for facilitating review and develop Civil Services as "a professional, neutral, merit based and accountable instrument for promoting good governance and better delivery of services to citizens." Related Stories Government seeks high standard of ethics among civil servants (July 3, 2009) My Take: Brand-Building Of Europe’s Bureaucracy (June 30, 2009) Dr Manmohan Singh’s prescription for IAS (May 30, 2009) Over 22K pending cases in CAT As many as 22372 cases are pending in various benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal as on September 30, 2009. During 2007 and 2008, 17725 and 18287 cases were filed in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) out of which 18674 and 20352 cases were disposed of respectively. It was stated in a written reply in Parliament on Thursday. As a step towards clearing the backlog, a monthly pendency report is called for from all the benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal and the rate of disposal is personally monitored by the chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal. Also, targets are being set up by the chairman for the benches. Also, benches are now advised to give priority to the disposal of old cases pending between 2004 and 2007. Action & Appointments a) Justice Swatanter Kumar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court has been appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India. b) Justice Manmohan, Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court has been appointed as a Judge of the Delhi High Court c) Justice Syed Rafat Alam, Judge of the Allahabad High Court has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Disclaimer: The picture which is the cover of Henry Reining, Jr's book is symbolic.

Government seeks high standard of ethics among civil servants

INDIA wants its civil servants to be more competent and loyal, and they discharge official duties with integrity and impartiality, a new draft bill on civil services which will be placed in Parliament some time soon envisaged. The government has drafted a Civil Services Bill, which envisages to provide a statutory basis for the regulation of the Civil Services in India, minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances & pensions, Prithviraj Chavan said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. In fact, the Bill is aimed to ensure a high standard of ethics in the civil service operation, requiring and facilitating every civil servant discharge official duties with competence, and loyalty, care and diligence, responsibility, integrity, objectivity and impartiality, and without any discrimination, the minister said. The Bill will, however, be useful for bureaucrats who always wish to come out of the clutches of their political masters. babu blogger said on June 9, 2009 that if Dr Manmohan Singh’s new government has its way, bureaucrats may not be at the mercy of their political masters in matters related to transfers. If the government is able to convert the proposed Civil Services Bill into an Act of Parliament, the success of government programmes will be linked to the performance of bureaucrats who run those at the ground level, and politicians will have the least control over those bureaucrats, initial reports on the content of the Bill have suggested, babu blogger wrote in his June 9 post.

Action & Appointments A) Khullar given additional charges of ITPO: Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar, a 1975 batch IAS from AGMU cadre, has been given additional charges of the post of chairman and managing director, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). The assignment is for a period of three months or until further orders, a release said. B) Gill moves to Punjab: P S Gill, a 1975 batch J&K cadre IPS, has been granted an inter-cadre deputation from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab up to September 30, 2011 which is the date of his superannuation, or until further orders. C) Justice Amarappa & Justice Pachhapura in Karnataka HC: Justice Arali Nagaraj Amarappa and Justice Arvind Shiwagouda Pachhapura, additional judges of the Karnataka High Court, have been appointed as judges of the Karnataka High Court. D) Justice Baruah appointed as Guwahati High Court Judge: Justice Hareswar Baruah, additional judge of the Guwahati High Court, has been appointed a judge of the Guwahati High Court

Time to break free: Politicians may no longer be able to punish bureaucrats by random transfers

IF Dr Manmohan Singh’s new government has its way, bureaucrats may not be at the mercy of their political masters in matters related to transfers. Politically motivated transfer is the biggest ever weapon in the hands of politicians to use against bureaucrats as has been recently demonstrated by UP chief minister Mayawati. If the government is able to convert the proposed Civil Services Bill into an Act of Parliament, the success of government programmes will be linked to the performance of bureaucrats who run those at the ground level, and politicians will have the least control over those bureaucrats, initial reports on the content of the Bill have suggested. Once the Bill is passed, it would first be applicable for IAS and IPS before the coverage is extended to other civil servants. Also, a new Central Public Services Authority will be established which may have sweeping powers in matters appointment, transfers and promotion of civil servants. If initial reports are to be believed, the Act will give more powers to chief secretary and director general of police in matters related to IAS and IPS respectively. Also, the Leader of the Opposition, for the first time, may be roped in a panel headed by Prime Minister himself in key appointments of top civil servants of the country. Babu Blogger’s Take: As Dr Manmohan Singh got a positive mandate this time round, his performance will be under severe scrutiny before he goes to poll five years down the line. The government will try to ensure flawless implementation of its flagship programmes, for which performance of bureaucrats at the ground level will count more than those of politicians. So, why are you waiting for? Party hard, and work harder! It’s the time for civil servants to bargain the most.

Bureaucrats allowed to fly again in business class for LTC For those civil servants availing Leave Travel Concession (LTC) anytime soon, air travel will become luxurious once more. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has re-introduced business class for them, six months after the government restricted their flights to the cheapest economy class in the backdrop of the government’s austerity measures. According to the new order, officers and their families will be able to travel business class on LTC by any airline, if their fares are equal or below those offered by Air India under its LTC scheme for business class, a media report has said.