Countdown To Civil Services Day: 3 MP IAS selected for PM’s award for excellence

LAST year, a section of national press picked up a story of a BSF havildar’s son from Jammu who as the collector of Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh imbibed the Naxal tactics of wooing the impoverished villagers and used the same against them. The man who was determined to break the Maoists’ hold over ordinary citizens of the district, organized medical camps and meetings in Naxal-infested district before becoming an icon among villagers of the district.

Yes, Gulshan Bamra, a 1997 batch IAS officer who is presently the collector for Jabalpur, is one of the three IAS officers being selected for the prestigious Prime Minister’s award for excellence award to be presented at a function in New Delhi on April 21 to mark the Civil Services Day. Significantly, 37 year-old Bamra will get the award for “Involvement of community under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Naxalite-affected areas in Madhya Pradesh.”

The other two officers of the state who have also been selected for the award are 1977 batch MP cadre IAS OP Rawat (Picture on Right)  who is now an additional chief secretary of the state, and Sanjay Dubey (Picture on Left), a 1993 batch IAS currently serving as CEO in Madhya Pradesh Rural Road Development Authority.

Mr Rawat who has masters degree both in physics and economics had earlier served as director and then joint secretary in Union defence ministry. He is now receiving the award for implementation of a forest rights act.

Sanjay Dubey who was an engineer by profession before joining IAS, will receive the award for removal of encroachments of structures of different religions and yet maintaining communal harmony in Madhya Pradesh.

Why is Bir so angry?

JS Bir, a senior IAS officer of Punjab cadre and secretary in general administration department (GAD) of the state expressed his angst against government's failure to remove 'corruption in the system' which led to his 'humiliation and mental trauma'. This is what the IAS officer wrote to Punjab chief secretary and chief minister in his letter seeking voluntary retirement. Who will take Bir seriously?