POWER GAMES: What’s if principal secretary to PM TKA Nair is made a Governor?

THE talks in the Raisina Hills last weekend were not just confined to hits and misses in the preparation of the Commonwealth Games. Babus picked up the phone even on Sunday to find out whether it’s just a rumour or news that principal secretary to PM, TKA Nair would be moved out of the power corridor and made Governor of Madhya Pradesh after the Commonwealth Games. If Nair, who has been playing a key role in the PMO, is sent for a gubernatorial position in the same way as former national security advisor M K Narayanan was sent a few months ago, the bigger speculation is who would replace Nair in New Delhi’s power epicenter? 

The speculations got intensified when a national newspaper whose editor had a stint in PMO earlier, published a report in its front page on Sunday that Nair is likely to be appointed Governor of Madhya Pradesh and former Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla, who is reportedly close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, may become Governor of Rajasthan.

If that turns out to be true, former cabinet secretary and Planning Commission Member BK Chaturvedi who enjoys a close rapport with the Prime Minister could be a top contender for the post of principal adviser to PM. But there would be much more action in Raisina Hills if PM chooses his new blue eyed boy and incumbent cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar for the post. If PM’s assigning of key Games responsibilities to Chandrasekhar and the latter’s serial extension as the cabinet secretary are any indication, Prime Minister may reserve this high-profile slot to Chandrasekhar too. Mind it, PM himself is a strong believer of continuity.

But if Chandrasekhar is picked up for this coveted post, the next question that comes is who will be the cabinet secretary? Despite World Bank ED and 1974 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre Pulok Chatterjee is close to 10 Janpath, his elevation as cabinet secretary at this juncture would mean superceding of a large number of seniors IAS particularly finance secretary and 1973 batch Gujarat cadre IAS Ashok Chawla who is retiring only on January 31, 2011. (Read: Pulok Chatterjee as the Most Powerful Bureaucrat of 2009)

So, who knows if PM chooses Pulok Chatterjee, who as secretary in the PMO played a key role during UPA-I, as his principal secretary? But who then will be the top contenders for India’s next cabinet secretary once Chandrasekhar retires in June next year? Clearly, at this stage there are more questions than definitive answers. 
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Bureaucrats as Governors
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A tribute to S Santhanam, a batch-mate of National Security Advisor M K Narayanan

DURING his heydays, 1958-batch IAS S Santhanam who worked very closely with two chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, NT Rama Rao and M Chenna Reddy, was a well-known figure in power corridors of Delhi. The former bureaucrat, who also served as the secretary to Governor during 1972-'75, breathed his last at the age of 75 in Hyderabad on Monday. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. An alumnus of Loyola College of Chennai, Santhanam was also the additional chief secretary and special chief secretary in AP. He was highly accessible even to common men, and was known for his humour. In fact, the only retired bureaucrat (an IPS) of 1958 batch who is still one of the most powerful babus in capital's power corridor is M K Narayanan, National Security Advisor who retired in 1992. Significantly, the other known name who is a contemporary to Santhanam is J&K Governor N N Vohra, a 1959 batch IAS who retired in 1994. Only September last year, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) organised the golden jubilee retreat for the 1958 batch of IAS. What's more, the first part of the book, "Governance and the IAS: In Search of Resilience" edited by R K Dar gives excerpts of memoirs of 12 officers of the 1958 batch covering administration in Orissa, UP, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, WB, Haryana, Bihar, Assam-Meghalaya and the Central Secretariat. And yes, the 1958 batch belonged to the last batch that was trained at Metcalfe House, Delhi which was in fact the house of Sir Thomas Metcalfe, Governor-General's agent at the Imperial court of the Mughal Emperor and later Commissioner of Delhi. Related Story: A tribute to Gopi Arora of Rajiv era (November 7, 2009) Madhu Koda case to haunt IAS officers now Income tax officials have questioned a few serving IAS officers allegedly involved in former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda's Rs 2500 cr money laundering scam. Mr Koda who was arrested on Monday, has denied such allegation of money laundering or other fraud. A section of media has claimed that the officers under scanner include a former secretary and a principal secretary of mining both of whom are incidentally the serving bureaucrats. The retired bureaucrats are also being questioned. Read: Know the super taxman in North Block anchoring the Madhu Koda episode (Nov 9, 2009) Action & Appointments a) Dr Srikumar Banerjee, Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has been appointed as secretary, Department of Atomic Energy and Chairman Atomic Energy Commission for a tenure up to the age of 66 years in place of Dr Anil Kakodkar who is retired on November 30, 2009. b) New shipping secretary K Mohandas, a 1974 batch Kerala cadre IAS will hold additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with immediate effect for a period of three months or until further orders. c) Sanjeev Kumar, a 1986 batch IDAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of social justice and empowerment.

Urban development secretary M Ramachandran presents the first copy of his book to PM

THE dateline is New Delhi’s Nirman Bhawan. And byline? Yes, urban development secretary and 1972 batch Uttaranchal cadre IAS M Ramachandran has turned into an author. He presented the first copy of his book titled, “An Alternative Approach to Project Planning in Public Works - The Indian Context”, to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday, July 6, 2009.
Among those who were also present during his 15-minutes-long interaction with the Prime Minister were minister for environment & forests Jairam Ramesh, Planning Commission Member B K Chaturvedi, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan and Mrs M Ramachandran (See picture above).
Mr Ramachandran, who is a strong contender for the cabinet secretary’s post next year, had an M Phil in economic planning from the University of Glasgow, UK and PhD in project planning. In fact, the book is an outcome of his PhD project on project planning which provides an insight into the procedural hiccups and perhaps for the first time, suggests an alternate approach.


Babus In Demand

A) Member, CAT at Patna: Applications are invited from eligible officers for one vacancy of Administrative Member in the Central Administrative Tribunal at Patna occurring on September 11, 2009. The Member shall hold offices for five years, and the conditions of service shall be the same as applicable to Judges of the High Court. Last Date: August 10, 2009
B) Judicial Members, CAT at Ahmedabad and Chandigarh: Applications are invited from suitable candidates for filling up two vacancies of Judicial Members in the Central Administrative Tribunal in Ahmedabad and Chandigarh Bench. The conditions of service will be the same as applicable to Judges of the High CourtLast Date: August 10, 2009. If you have any doubt, just pick up the phone and call the office of secretary, the ministry of personnel, at 011-23094848.

Action and Appointments
A) Anu Aggarwal, IAS (Nagaland, 2001) will be considered for Inter-Cadre deputation to Punjab cadre only after completion of six years in her cadre and after completion of 'cooling off' requirements.
B) The proposal of the ministry of home affairs for the inter-cadre deputation of J Ajay Kumar, IAS (Assam, 1997) from Assam-Meghalaya to Andhra Pradesh for a period of three years has been approved.
C) The appointment of A K Singh, IFS (Assam, 1984) as Controller (Admn.) in the National Technical Research Organisation has not been approved
D) The extension in Central deputation tenure of Umesh Kumar, IPS (Assam, 1984), IG, CISF has been approved for one year beyond June 11, 2009 or until further orders.