4 Indian Forest Service probationers assaulted in Rajkot; a former MLA booked; Incident sequences here

FOUR Indian Forest Service (IFoS) probationers of 2017 batch were on Saturday attacked by some locals near Rajkot in Gujarat. Media reports quoting local police have said that a former MLA of Gondal constituency, Mahipatsinh Jadeja, was booked for allegedly attacking the probationary officers when a group of 47 probationers was returning to Ahmedabad by bus. Here’s the sequence of the events as unfolded:

10 districts receive PM’s Award; Gujarat, Maharashtra, MP, Punjab, Karnataka etc. draw a blank

Cab Sec PK Sinha, Addl Principal Secy to PM PK Mishra at the release

BIG Indian states, many of which are often considered progressive, have failed to make a mark in Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Implementation of Priority Programmes, presented by Prime Minister as a part of 10th Civil Services Day on Thursday. None of the districts from states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab or Karnataka could figure in the award list. In fact, out of the 10 districts which were presented this coveted PM’s Awards, two are from…

Working in Delhi, but residing in Noida or Faridabad? This DoPT clarification on LTC will benefit you

Destination Modhera (Photo courtesy: Gujarat Tourism)

A SMART marketing person selling real estates in Noida, Ghaziabad or Gurgaon can resort to this May 18, 2015, office memorandum (OM) when he or she pitches a Central government officer next time. In fact, this OM, issued by DoPT, clarifies that those government employees residing in areas in National Capital Region of Delhi (e.g. Noida, Indirapuram, Gurgaon or Faridabad etc.) can actually avail of Leave Travel Concession (LTC) using the…

Centre to borrow Gujarat government’s scheme to help officials find “internal happiness”

ARE you a government employee looking for “internal happiness” and “sense of achievement”? Then, you may be a part of a new government programme, being designed on the line of Gujarat government’s Swantah Sukhaya under which a platform is given to government officials to design and implement projects or schemes of their choice on voluntary basis. An office memorandum dated November 1, says it would give officials a…

Officer X for Vacancy Y: Gujarat’s manpower management tool could be replicated across India

IN THE run-up to Lok Sabha elections, prime minister Narendra Modi often talked about the Gujarat Model and how some of the best practices of the state government could be replicated across India. Now, department of personnel and training (DoPT) that comes under the PM may push at least one of those. Last month, Gujarat government’s principal secretary in charge of general administration department pitched for a…

Is Narendra Modi helping DoPT? What’s this 500-page Collector’s Manual?

Narendra Modi: Keeping babus in good humour

GUJARAT chief minister Narendra Modi has always been popular among bureaucrats. After all, Modi knows it well his linkage to post-Godhra episode could be wiped out from people’s mind-space only by outstanding delivery of governance. And that can happen if babus are kept in good humour. Modi’s brainstorming sessions with bureaucrats at an exotic locale in Rann of Kutch is an annual affair. And now…

Sanjiv Bhatt turns real-life Singham; Gujarat IPS officers back his “fight for truth”

Ajay Devgan as Singham

IS Gujarat’s much talked about IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt slowing becoming a real-life Singham, an Ajay Devgan-starred character of a police officer who finally motivates his seniors to join him in a fight against the evil? Bhatt who was arrested on September 30 on a compliant filed by police constable, is now getting a strong backing from fellow IPS officers of the state. Bhatt first came into news when he accused state chief minister Narendra Modi of complicity in the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

Sanjiv Bhatt

On Saturday, Gujarat IPS Officers Association passed a resolution not only to support the family of the arrested IPS officer but backed Bhatt in his "fight for truth". The meeting was reportedly attended by 35 IPS officer. The resolution is significant as it is the most vocal support to a Modi-baiter though many IPS officers in the past were not happy about the treatment meted out to IPS officers like Rahul Sharma, RB Srikumar and Kuldeep Sharma. All of them had expressed their anguish against Modi government over a period of time.

According to media reports, IPS officers Atul Karwal, VM Parghi and Praveen Kumar Singh personally went to Bhatt’s residence to convey the resolution passed by the association to his family members. Bhatt’s wife Shewta had earlier written to home minister P Chidambaram saying that her husband was kept in the same cell with criminals and his life could be a danger.

Gujarat DGP Chittaranjan Singh played down the move. Incidentally, the IPS association also wanted a permanent DGP in the state as Singh is an acting police chief.

There has been a fear among IPS officers in the state that any one opposing Modi could be meted out the same treatment. It is probably the first instance in India that an IPS officer is arrested on a complaint filed by a police constable. Constable KD Pant had accused Bhatt of allegedly making him sign false affidavits regarding a meeting called by Modi on February 27, 2002 soon after the Godhra train attack.

Srivastava new Member Traffic Railway Board

KK Srivastava, a 1975 batch Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer, has taken over as new Member Traffic, Railway Board and ex-officio secretary to government of India. He was the General Manager, East Central Railway, Hajipur. He had earlier worked as chief passenger traffic manager and chief operations manager on Eastern Railway and chief commercial manager on East Central Railway and North Eastern Railway. He had visited UK to study Multi-Model Transport Management.

Gujarat may dole out plots of land to IAS, IPS at cheaper rates

IF THE Narendra Modi government has its way, Gujarat’s IAS, IPS and other senior officers may turn lucky to get plots of land up to 330 sq metres at cheaper rate. This could be possible as the state government is contemplating to revive a scheme lying dormant for 10 years.

A news report in The Indian Express said that all IAS or IPS officers and government officials who had served in Gandhinagar for more than five years would be eligible to get plots measuring from 90 sqm to 330 sqm at concessional rates if this scheme is implemented. Currently, a 330 sq metre plot in Gandhinagar costs about Rs 1.5 crore.

The newspaper quoting unnamed sources said the government was inclined to revive the scheme on account of “very high demand (pressure) from new IAS/IPS officers and other officials who have not been able to get the benefits of the old scheme”.

Gujarat government has a similar policy for MLAs and MPs and former ministers too.

2 retired IAS in Bengal poll fray

Two retired IAS officers were among the candidates that fought West Bengal elections on Monday. Former Andhra Pradesh chief secretary Triloknath Dewan is a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) candidate in Darjeeling, and Sukhvilash Verma, Congress candidate in Jalpaiguri, had served as principal secretary in West Bengal’s agriculture department.

Action and Appointments

a) Shiv Prasad Sharma, a 1991 batch MP cadre Indian Forest Service officer has been appointed as director in the department of animal husbandry.

b) Ms Lopamudra Mohanty, a 1999 batch Indian P and T Accounts and Finance Service officer has been appointed as deputy secretary in the ministry of women and child development.

Kerala cadre IAS Sanjay Kaul hired to re-create God's Own Country in Modi's Gujarat

Gujarat’s tourism campaign has always used Guest as God motto to woo tourists, but now it has hired an IAS officer from God’s Own Country Kerala to anchor the state’s tourism drive. Kaul Sanjay Moolchand, a 2001 IAS batch Kerala cadre IAS, is taking over as managing director of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL), and is expected to kick-start a campaign involving Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan who was already hired as Gujarat’s brand ambassador.

An engineer by profession, Sanjay Kaul (left in the picture on top) originally belongs to the state of Gujarat and his parents still live in Vadodara. He is now on a deputation to Gujarat cadre for a period of three years. 41-year-old Sanjay had earlier served as a director in Kerala’s tourism department between November 2006 and December 2007. Current MD, TCGL, Anoop Shukla has been sent back to his parent cadre.

Several IAS officers from Kerala cadre have excelled in the field of tourism, the most famous face being 1980 batch IAS Amitabh Kant who was the man behind the “Incredible India” campaign.

For Sanjay Kaul, the challenge now is to create a new campaign and meaningfully rope in Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. While Vibrant Gujarat campaign has been a success story in wooing multi-billion dollar investment into the state, it remains to be seen whether Aavo Padharo or the Gujarati words of welcome can create a similar buzz at the national and international spectrums.