Adarsh Scam: Prithviraj Chavan for amending Article 311 to punish serving officials

Chavan (left) with PM during Civil Service Day (file photo) 

AS former Union minister managing DoPT, current Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan understands the nuances of babudom better than anyone else. Faced with the growing criticism that he had failed to take any action against IAS officers charged with irregularities in Adarsh housing society scam, Chavan has now talked about the need to amend the Article 311 of the Constitution which makes it difficult for the government to take actions against a serving official.

While replying in a discussion at the legislative council, Chavan said unless the Article 311 of the Constitution is amended, it’s difficult to take immediate action against any serving officials. He said that his government has so far taken action only against two retired officials.

Though 21 officials are connected with the case either for taking decisions or owning a flat in the building, the CBI has named only 14 accused so far. Seven of them are defence officials, two politicians, one a central government official and one a retired state official, the chief minister further added.

But the big question remains – will amendment of Article 311 if it is done lead to its misuse by politicians against bureaucrats?

Here is what Article 311 of the Constitution of India says:

Dismissal, removal or reduction in rank of persons employed in civil capacities under the Union or a State

1. No person who is a member of a civil service of the Union or an all-India service or a civil service of a State or holds a civil post under the Union or a State shall be dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to that by which he was appointed.

2. No such person as aforesaid shall be dismissed or removed or reduced in rank except after an inquiry in which he has been informed of the charges against him and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of those charges:

Provided that where it is proposed after such inquiry, to impose upon him any such penalty, such penalty may be imposed on the basis of the evidence adduced during such inquiry and it shall not be necessary to give such person any opportunity of making representation on the penalty proposed: Provided further that this clause shall not apply-

a. where a person is dismissed or removed or reduced in rank on the ground of conduct which has led to his conviction on a criminal charge; or 

b. where the authority empowered to dismiss or remove a person or to reduce him in rank is satisfied that for some reason, to be recorded by that authority in writing, it is not reasonably practicable to hold such inquiry; or 

c. where the President or the Governor, as the case may be, is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the State it is not expedient to hold such inquiry.

If, in respect of any such person as aforesaid, a question arises whether it is reasonably practicable to hold such inquiry as is referred to in clause (2), the decision thereon of the authority empowered to dismiss or remove such person or to reduce him in rank shall be final.

Indian Forest Service Exam to begin from July 9, 2011

Union Public Service Commission will hold the Indian Forest Service Examination, 2011 commencing from July 9, 2011. For details, log onto http://www.jobcorridor.com/

Maharashtra government may frame one-bureaucrat-one flat rules

IN WHAT could be described as direct fallout of Adarsh Society scam, the government of Maharashtra has been mulling over framing new rules that will allow a bureaucrat to apply for only one flat under government schemes. There are suggestions that a blanket ban should be imposed on the allotment of apartments or land to bureaucrats’ relatives under any government’s concessionary scheme.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar suggested that IAS or state officials would have to follow the one-bureaucrat-one flat norm, according to media reports. Under the current rules, one bureaucrat having a flat in Mumbai can also apply for flats in Navi Mumbai, Pune etc. under the government scheme as current rules allow a bureaucrat or politician to apply for a second flat in another district. In case of Mumbai, restrictions are limited only to the city.

In the wake of Adarsh scam, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan asked the JA Patil committee to submit recommendations to make the process of allotment of government land to housing societies more transparent.

11 IAS officers fail to disclose assets

After revealing the names of 851 Central Secretariat Service officers who failed to submit the annual Immovable Property Returns (IPR) for 2009, names of IAS officers have also cropped up for the same reason. Eleven senior IAS officers, including Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner and 1986 batch IAS officer Siddaiah, have failed to submit the assets and liabilities report for 2009-10, according to Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s written reply in Assembly.

Also Read

Govt reveals names of 851 defaulting officers

Prithviraj Chavan warns Maha bureaucrats of non-performance

NEW Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has a clear advantage in dealing with bureaucrats thanks to his long innings in the PMO and also in ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions which frames and changes the rules of administration. Mr Chavan has now made it very clear to Maharashtra bureaucrats who were under attack for their role in Adarsh housing scams in particular, must perform. Those who fail to make sound and speedy decisions would be axed, chief minister reportedly said in his first formal interaction with senior bureaucrats after he took over as CM, a section of media reports said. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar also spoke to the bureaucrats and reminded the babus about the past glory of the state.

There has been a general perception now that while politicians are increasingly being targeted for corruption, and some high-profile political leaders even have lost their jobs, bureaucrats are largely escaping harsh punishments.

V Narayanaswamy to be new man in DoPT

V Narayanaswamy, Congress MP from Puducherry and minister of state in the ministry of planning and minister of state in the ministry of parliamentary affairs has been assigned additional work as minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions. DoPT comes under this ministry. Narayanaswamy’s contact details: 28, Tughlak Crescent, New Delhi. Tel. (011) 23794522, 23794523 Fax. (011) 23794524

Contacts for Shunglu Panel

Shunglu panel probing the alleged financial irregularities of the recently held Commonwealth Games has asked people to send information through e-mail at

hlc-cwg@gov.in or telephone numbers 011-23063318-19. A drop box has also been set up to get information at its office in New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan, and it was made clear that identity of those who complain would be kept confidential. Shantanu Consul, former DoPT secretary is the second member of the Shunglu panel.  

PMO takes up 5 cases of Group A officers where there is no consensus between CVC and Disciplinary Authority

PRIME Minister’s Office (PMO) is now considering five cases where there has been a difference of opinion between Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Disciplinary Authority. It’s not known who are these Group A officers whose cases have been referred to PMO.
Though the final decision for imposition of a penalty vests with the disciplinary authority concerned, the cases of difference of opinion between the disciplinary authority and the CVC are required to be submitted to the Prime Minister for resolution. As was informed by minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and Pensions Prithviraj Chavan in Lok Sabha, 13 such cases have been disposed off in first seven months of the calendar year 2010. In 2008-09, 42 such cases were disposed whereas 27 such cases were resolved in 2009-2010.

Govt admits there’s a huge backlog in ST, SC and OBC posts

The government has admitted that it has not been able to fill up the backlog reserved vacancies of SC, ST and OBC categories despite special recruitment drive that began almost two years ago. Minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions Prithviraj Chavan in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha said that the government is aware that Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes posts are lying vacant in Central ministries or departments and their attached offices. The special recruitment drive was launched on November 19, 2008 to fill up backlog reserved vacancies of SC, ST and OBC categories. As per information received from various ministries and departments up to August 6, 2010, number of backlog reserved vacancies of SCs, STs and OBCs were 26,565; 25,649 and 21,143 respectively, of which 12,045; 2,799 and 3,876 respectively have been filled.

IAS topper inspires young minds at Jamia Millia

Dr Shah Faisal, IAS topper for 2009, gave an inspiring speech in Jamia Millia Islamia, which was attended by a large number of students. The interaction was in the form of an open Question-Answer session. Many students were spellbound listening to Dr Faisal’s speech. He has so far inspired many young minds of the minority community to pursue a career in the Indian Administrative Services.

1,21,0362,955: Disproportionate assets in Rs allegedly amassed by civil servants

Rs 1,21,0362,955. Finding it tough to figure it out? It’s over Rs 121 cr which is the total amount in disproportionate assets amassed by civil servants, according to CBI charge sheets. Though the number of cases under trial in 2009 was just three down from 55 in 2008, those under investigation (based on FIRs) went up from 13 in 2008 to 78.

This information was given by minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions Prithviraj Chavan in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. (In Picture: CBI director Ashwani Kumar in a medical check-up)

Meanwhile, in order to facilitate speedy trial of cases investigated by the CBI, the government has decided to set up 71 additional Special Courts, approved 284 posts of prosecuting officers with supporting staff and notified a new scheme for engaging law officers on contract basis for a period up to five years.

Also, various incentives were introduced to fill up the vacancies in the CBI. Those include grant of special incentive allowance at the rate of 25% of pay up to the level of senior superintendent of police and at the rate of 15% for officers above that rank to attract officers on deputation.

It was also decided to divert 77 posts of deputy superintendent of police from deputation quota to promotion quota, as a one time measure in relaxation of recruitment rules to expedite filling up of these posts, a government release said.

MHA joint secretary’s house raided

CBI searched the houses of two senior government officers including one of O Ravi (In picture), a 1983 batch IAS and joint secretary in the ministry of home affairs (MHA). Mr Ravi allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 25 lakh from a private distiller. Another ministry official, RS Sharma, a director, has been booked for accepting bribes to favour a bulletproof jacket firm, according to media reports.

Global Window: Pak SC sets aside 54 bureaucrats’ promotions

Pakistan’s Supreme Court declared the prime minister’s promotion of 54 bureaucrats to Grade 22 as null and void. It said that the promotion was in complete disregard to the rules, destroying the services structure, a three-member bench of the Pakistan SC said.

RTI Act unlikely to be amended; rejection of frivolous requests could be made possible by changing rules

THE RTI Act is unlikely to be amended despite there has been a voice within the government that vexations and frivolous requests under the Act need to be rejected by amending the Act. There were media reports saying that there was a rift between Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on whether the Act which has been projected as a major tool to bring in transparency, should be amended at all. According to Mrs Gandhi and the party spin doctors, there is no need to amend the Act as it could be politically detrimental, though some part of the Act has brought inconvenience to the functioning of the government.

In a carefully prepared written reply in Parliament, minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions, Prithviraj Chavan, hinted that there was no need to amend the Act, and that if need be, the issues involved may be addressed by amending the rules.

“While no indication can be given at this stage regarding the amendments which will be incorporated in the Act as discussions with the various stakeholders are yet to be held, the proposal under consideration covers, inter-alia, amendment to enlarge the scope of suo-motu disclosure, to avoid frivolous or vexatious representations, to modify the provision about disclosure of cabinet papers, to make a provision for giving current charge of Chief Information Commissioner to any Commissioner, to provide the constitution of Benches of the Commission and to incorporate a new section empowering the Commission to make regulations,” he said in the reply.

In a related development, government of Uttar Pradesh sent a proposal for grant of Rs 7.50 crore for construction of building for the State Information Commission under the proposed Government of India scheme for providing assistance to states for this purpose. But the Central Government has not taken any decision on the proposal of the state government, Mr Chavan said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday without answering the question “why”.

Action and Appointments

a) Railway minister Kumari Mamata Banerjee presented the 55th Railway Week National Awards for Outstanding Services-2010, in New Delhi on Thursday. (See picture on right)

The ministers of state for railways E Ahamed and K H Muniyappa and the chairman, Railway Board, SS Khurana were also present on the occasion.

b) Urban development secretary M Ramachandran took part at the signing ceremony of the “Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement” among NCR states of Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan for unrestricted and seamless movement of traffic in NCR region. The function (See picture on left) took place in New Delhi on Thursday.

CAT WALK: 24496 pending cases now with Central Administrative Tribunal

IT SEEMS Indian officers have become unhappy over the years. If the number of cases filed in Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) is any indication, either the unhappiness index of Indian bureaucracy has shot up sharply, or officers have become more of a challenger or highly argumentative.

In fact, as on January 31, 2010, there are 22440 cases pending in CAT, and the number has substantially increased over the years, according to government statistics. During the year 2009, 24496 cases were instituted and 23681 were disposed. It’s not that the government employees become more argumentative all of a sudden resulting in piling up of CAT cases, but the rise is also the fallout of the fact that the number of corporations, societies and other authorities under the CAT went up from 47 to 191 during July 2007 to December 2008.

Now, in addition to setting targets by the chairman for the CAT Benches to dispose cases, the Benches are being advised to give priority to disposal of old cases pending between 2004 to 2007, according to information provided by minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions Prithviraj Chavan in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Special drive to fill quota backlog

The number of backlog reserved vacancies of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes were 3537, 2969 and 6439 respectively, as on November 1, 2008. The government has launched a Special Recruitment Drive to fill up the backlog reserved vacancies, minister Prithviraj Chavan said in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Also Read

Centre woos minorities by job offers

Liberal benchmark for ST, SCs in empanelment of JS...

Babus In Demand

Officers of the rank of deputy secretary or director of the Government of lndia or

equivalent level may apply for post of Deputy Director(Admn) in AIIMS like Institution at Rishikesh under the ministry of health and family welfare. The period of

deputation is for 3 yeas.

For details, check the DoPT CIRCULAR, dated March 2, 2010

Chief secretaries to meet on Monday to deliberate issues on security, technology, global challenges and opportunities

CHIEF secretaries of all Indian states and Union Territories are landing up in New Delhi to attend the first annual conference of chief secretaries, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday. The two day conference, which is aimed at institutionalizing the process of interaction with states and Union Territories, will act as a standing forum for exchange of views between the Centre and the states and provide an occasion for interaction on internal matters, a government release said.

The conference, which is organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, will deliberate upon the latest trend in technology, emerging global challenges and opportunities and key security concerns to name a few. Global developments that have a bearing on the country would also figure prominently during the conference.

The conference will also be attended by the minister of state for Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions Prithviraj Chavan, cabinet secretary KM Chandrashekhar, in addition of various Government of India secretaries.

Action and Appointments

a) S Sundareshan, a 1976 batch Kerala cadre IAS, assumed charge as new petroleum secretary on Sunday. Mr Sundareshan took charge from RS Pandey, a 1972 batch Nagaland cadre IAS, who demitted office on superannuation. (See Picture: Sundareshan (right) with outgoing secretary Pandey).

BIO-DATA of S Sundareshan

b) Kumar Sanjay Krishna, a 1985 batch Assam cadre IAS, has assumed charge in the cadre as Assam’s principal secretary of planning and development. Mr Krishna served as a joint secretary, first in the PMO and then in the DEA under the ministry of finance.

Dr Singh’s prescription for cops

PRIME Minister Dr Manmohan Singh chose to air his message to over two million, or 20 lakhs, policemen across India when he asked the 61st batch of Indian Police Service (IPS) probationers in New Delhi on Tuesday that police officers should be well versed in subjects such as cyber crimes and disaster management activities. He further said All India Services play a very important role, and IPS officers have the privilege of belonging to one of the three All India Services, the IAS and Indian Forest Service are the two other Services. “I am very encouraged about the future of our country. I think you combine in yourself a vast amount of knowledge and diversity of subjects. This augurs well for the future of our country,” he said.
Here are some excerpts of what Prime Minister spoke during the address to the IPS probationers, which was also attended by minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions and parliamentary affairs, Prithviraj Chavan, national security advisor to the Prime Minister, MK Narayanan and the Prime Minister's principal secretary, TKA Nair.

Why IPS is Privileged?
As I said, India is a quasi federation. You work in various states, you belong to particular cadres, but you also belong to the fraternity of the three privileged services whose responsibility it is to use their knowledge, wisdom and experience that they gain through operations in various parts of our country, to serve our country, to maintain its unity and integrity at all costs.

On Highhandedness of Officials
In administration of justice, one increasingly hears complaints of high handedness of officials, sometimes they happen to be police officials. So I think it is very important that in discharging your responsibilities, the enforcement of law and order must be endowed with the spirit that is consistent with what is stated in the Constitution of India.

On Lodging of FIR
Recently concerns have been expressed that very often if people go to register a First Information Report there are obstacles that they have to experience, problems arising out of the existence of vested interests. I think these are type of concerns which must be addressed. It is the right of every citizen who has a genuine complaint to have an FIR registered.
Also Read:
PM's prescription for diplomats (August 26, 2009)
Dr Singh's prescription for IAS (May 30, 2009)

Babus in Demand
Delhi Development Authority wants to fill the post of Director (Ministerial) on a deputation basis. Under secretary or and deputy secretary level officers of Central Staffing Scheme (CSS) is eligible to apply.
For details, read the Office Memo, dated January 5, 2010

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.

Govt adopts liberal benchmark for ST, SCs in empanelment of JS, addl secy & secretary; No provision for reservation as yet

THE government has reiterated that there is no provision of reservation for SCs/STs in posts of secretary, additional secretary, joint secretary and director etc. which come under Central Staffing Scheme, but added that at the time of empanelment, every effort is made to empanel officers belonging to SC/ST and are at times liberal benchmarks are adopted as compared to officers from general category. Minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances & pensions Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday gave this information. Currently, out of 88 secretaries in government of India as on December 11, 2009, there are four STs (4.55%) and no SC. Similarly, out of 66 additional secretary level officers, there is only one ST and one SC officer. In case of joint secretaries, out of 249 officers, 13 are SC and 9 are ST officers. There are currently 31 SC directors and 9 ST director level officers. Related Story: Centre tries to attract minorities by offering government jobs (July 11, 2009) ARC's recommendation on capacity building for OBCs The 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) in its 7th Report called “Capacity Building for Conflict Resolution – Friction to Fusion” recommended that government might work out the modalities of a survey and take up a statewise socio-economic survey of the “Other Backward Classes”, which could form the basis of policies and programmes to improve their status. It has also suggested that the government needs to formulate and implement a comprehensive scheme for capacity building of OBCs. The recommendations are under consideration of the government now. It was stated by the minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances & pensions Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Action & Appointments a) Sundeep Kumar Nayak, a 1985 batch JK cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the ministry of mines. b) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Election Commission of India for appointment of Vinod Zutshi, a 1982 batch Rajasthan cadreIAS, presently in the cadre as Officer on Special Duty (joint secretary level) in the Election Commission of India. c) Suresh Chandra Gupta, a 1986 batch Sikkim cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of chemicals & petrochemicals. d) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the ministry of home affairs for inter-cadre deputation of C Sita Rami Reddy, a 1987 batch Punjab cadre IPS from Punjab to Andhra Pradesh for a period of three years, as a special case. e) Dr Nazrul Islam, a 1981 batch West Bengal cadre IPS has been appointed as Executive Director (Security) in the Railway Protection Force for a period of five years or until further order. f) Central deputation tenure of M Rajamani, a 1982 batch Orissa cadre IAS has been extended as senior Deputy Director General (Administration) in the Indian Council of Medical Research under the department of health research for a period till December 31, 2009. g) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the pre-mature termination of appointment of Jiji Thomson, a 1980 batch Kerala cadre IAS, joint secretary in the department of agriculture & cooperation, on his appointment to an appropriate position in the administration of the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010 under Rule 6 (2) (ii) of the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954, on deputation basis. h) Anindo Majumdar, a 1985 batch UT cadre IAS has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of agriculture & cooperation for a period from the date of assumption of the charge of the post till the completion of his Central deputation period of 7 years, i.e. upto October 15, 2013 or until further orders. i) Sat Pal, a 1979 batch CSS has been appointed as secretary, National Commission for Safai Karamacharis (joint secretary level) under the ministry of social justice and empowerment. j) The appointment of Inder Jit Singh, a 1985 batch Kerala cadre IAS as joint secretary in the department of higher education has been cancelled. He has now been appointed as joint secretary in the department of science and technology instead. k) Inter-cadre transfer of Ms R. Nishanthini, A 2008 batch West Bengal cadre IPS from West Bengal to Kerala has been approved. l) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the regularization of the period of overstay of Ms Raji P Srivastava, a 1992 batch Punjab cadre IAS for a period from November 2, 2008 to May 5, 2009.

Govt fast-tracts investigation on US companies bribing Indian bureaucrats

IN A move to fast-track the process of investigation against the government officials allegedly to have received bribe from US companies, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has asked the concerned departments for expeditious action against officials belonging to the ministry of railways, ministry of defence, department of agriculture & cooperation, department of revenue and government of Maharashtra. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances & pensions, Prithviraj Chavan named of the American companies believed to be involved in the graft case and also listed out what all has been done so far. Significantly, the Indian Ambassador in USA Meera Shankar first informed the government by writing a formal letter that several references regarding illegal payments to the officials in India were made in an US report on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Anti-corruption Enforcement for the second half of 2008 and early part of 2009. In September, 2009, the CVC asked the CBI to look into each of these instances of corruption and furnish a report. The CBI's report is awaited. The companies which have allegedly made improper payments to some Indian officials, according to the minister's statement in Lok Sabha, are Pioneer Friction Ltd., part of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (Webtec), York India (a subsidiary of York International Corporation), DE - Nocil Corp. Protection Ltd (a subsidiary of Dow Chemicals Corporation), Pride Foramer (a part of Pride International Inc.) and an unindicated front comapny of Richard Morlok and Mario Covino. It was further informed that CBI was investigating a case of improper payment to a key official in Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage, Faridabad by De-Nocil, a subsidiary of Dow Chemicals. Also, the ministry of defence has constituted a Board of Officers for investigating the allegations pertaining to Indian Navy and the ministry of railways suspended business dealings with Pioneer Friction, Kolkata and Webtec, USA as a result of the allegation. Read: Who are ‘officials in the Indian Railway Board’ who took dollar bribe? (October 16, 2009) Senior officials from shipping ministry & Assam government in disproportionate assets case CBI has registered 88 cases against All India Services Officers including IAS, IPS, IFS (Forests) from 2006 till October 30, 2009. Significantly, maximum number of cases (65) were of 2006. During the said period, CBI has filed charge-sheets in 102 cases against All India Services Officers and registered 5 cases of disproportionate assets against All India Services Officers for which no charge-sheets have been filed. Out of these five disproportionate assets cases, three cases are against the officers of joint secretary level and above, working in Madras Fertilizers Ltd, Chennai; government of Assam and ministry of shipping. Defence activities beyond the purview of RTI Under the ministry of defence, only Defence Research and Development Organisation and Border Road Development Board are exempted from the purview of the Right to Information Act 2005. However, information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations are not exempted, defence minister AK Antony said in a written reply to Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Employees of PSUs including banks may come under CAT ambit

EMPLOYEES of public sector undertakings or PSUs including those working in government banks may finally be able to approach Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) for justice in matters of recruitment and conditions of service if the government succeeds in installing better infrastructure in CAT. While talking at All India Conference of CAT in New Delhi on Sunday, minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions Prithviraj Chavan (See picture) said, "More government employees would be in a position to get speedy justice for their grievances. If we can fulfil the infrastructure needs of CAT, even the PSUs and the Public Sector Banking institutions could be covered." Currently, 191 organisations of the Central government come under the ambit of CAT which has so far handled about 5.32 lakh cases out of which only about 23,000 cases are pending. While inaugurating the conference, Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan said that CAT had progressively improved their disposal in recent years and some regional benches disposed off a higher number of cases than the numbers instituted before them. Chairman of Principal Bench CAT Justice VK Bali informed the gathering that 91% of cases of the principal bench were upheld in the writ petitions in Delhi High Court. "We have decided it as a matter of policy that life of no case in the tribunal in any part of the country would be more than six months", he added.

CAT's conference on Sunday to deliberate on early settlement of bureaucrats' disputes

IN AN attempt to resolve disputes in a speedy manner, Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has initiated a dialogue process involving all stakeholders including law ministry and ministry of personnel, public grievances & pensions. The CAT, which adjudicates disputes on recruitment, promotion etc. of government employees, will have its all India conference on Sunday to come out with its suggestions or decisions to improve its functioning and speed up administration of justice. Whereas Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan will inaugurate and deliver the keynote address, the Union minister for law & justice M Veerappa Moily and minister of state for personnel, public grievances & pensions Prithviraj Chavan will address the gathering. Chairman of CAT Justice V K Bali, several Judges of the Supreme Court, Attorney General, Solicitors General will be among those taking part in the conference. The Conference is aimed at holding a frank discussion on service laws and other issues that have a bearing on the functioning of CAT. The CAT is responsible for adjudication of disputes with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of civil servants, and posts in Union, local authorities within the territory of India or under the control of Government of India. This was done in pursuance of the amendment of Constitution of India by Articles 323A.

3rd Army Open Ladies Amateur Golf Championship ends in Delhi If you thought, golf is played only by India Inc, you are making a gross mistake. A record number of 111 players from all over the country took part in 3rd Army Open Ladies Amateur Golf Championship, held in New Delhi on October 28-30, 2009. The championship was inaugurated by Brig Kuldip Singh, VSM Dy GOC, Delhi Area & Captain of the Course. Among those who showed their talents included Gauri Monga, Gurbani Singh, Millie Saroha, Neelam Pratap Rudy, Neetu Aggarwal and Siddhi Kapoor. Significantly, golf is getting popular among Indian bureaucrats too, as there are about 700 IAS and IPS officers who play golf regularly. Read: Golf players in power corridors, June 17, 2009

Delhi’s power corridor feels the heat of monsoon fury; normal work paralyzed

THE work in many government offices in Delhi got disrupted as heavy rains accompanied by strong wind lashed the city Friday afternoon. Whereas a number of appointments and meetings got cancelled, and many bureaucrats were caught up in hours long traffic jams across Lutyen’s Delhi, premises of many key ministries including commerce and industry, steel, urban development and power witnessed severe water logging forcing even the powerful babus encountering real-time monsoon of the current season. The only area that escaped the virtual flash flood was the relatively higher zone of North and South Blocks housing several important ministries such as home, finance, PMO and defence though the officers who were out in the city at that point of time faced the nightmare of Delhi’s one of the worst traffic jam situationa during the recent time. Though falling of trees were seen in premises of many government offices in the capital, none of the buildings witnessed a similar fate as that of Indira Gandhi international airport where a part of the roof in the departure terminal was blown off by the wind, which raised many a question regarding the design of the airport being modernised on a public private partnership mode with GMR group holding the majority stake. Govt may adopt a new agenda for administrative reforms The government may adopt a new agenda for reforms in administration to meet the challenges of the changing times, minister of state for personnel, public grievances & pensions Prithviraj Chavan hinted while inaugurating a day-long conference of state secretaries of the administrative reforms held in New Delhi on Friday. The institution of Prime Minister’s Awards which recognize the best practitioners of administration in wide ranging areas from education, transportation, health, service delivery, policing, environment and urban governance, has given an impetus towards bringing many of the ‘Best Practices’ in administration to limelight, he added. Secretary of administrative reforms and pension Rajni Razdan said that the thrust areas in government reform included transparency, accountability and efficiency among others. Read: "ARC recommendations to be implemented with speed, says Prime Minister; RTI Act to be improved" posted on August 15, 2009.

Action & Appoitments a) The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) has rejected the proposal for inter-cadre deputation of Praveen Kumar Raghav, IFS (J&K, 2000) from Jammu & Kashmir to Uttar Pradesh. b) Central deputation tenure of 1981 batch IAS of MP cadre Amar Singh, joint secretary, ministry of rural development has been extended for a period of three months. c) M G V K Bhanu, a 1985 batch Assam cadre IAS, presently on inter cadre deputation to the state of Andhra Pradesh, may be repatriated to his parent cadre of Assam-Meghalaya by the end of September 2009.

State officers meet in New Delhi today to brainstorm on administrative reforms

IN THE first ever get-together to brainstorm on issues related to administrative reforms, secretaries of departments of administrative reforms of various states and union territories are taking part in a conference to be held in New Delhi on Friday. The conference will focus on the implementation of second Administrative Reform Commission (ARC) recommendation pertaining to the states. The conference, to be inaugurated by Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions, aims to create a national platform to share experiences of the states in the field of reforms or initiatives undertaken by the department of administrative reforms in the states. According to a government release, this is a part of an agenda to improve public service delivery, make the administration effective, transparent and accountable. The conference will provide a forum for the various states to highlight the issues being faced by them in the area of administrative reforms, the release said. Issues that are likely to come up for discussion include organizational structure of the administrative departments in the states, budget allocation and reform activities in addition to brainstorming challenges faced by them in the execution of reforms activities and assistance required by them from the Centre. babu blogger in his post “Quick fix: Govt discusses cutting down of file movements” dated June 27, 2009, said how the number of level through which a file passes for a decision would not exceed three if a 26-page note that was doing the rounds in power corridors had its way. Govt issues yet another memo on prevention of sexual harassment Issuing yet another office memo, the government reiterated its commitment regarding prevention of sexual harassment of women in government. The memo issued recently by department of personnel and training (DoPT) was related to CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964 - Guidelines regarding prevention of sexual harassment of working women in the workplace. It had earlier issued a memo dated July 21, 2009. In fact, a provision was added in 2004, on inquiry procedure which was laid down in the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965. Also read, “DoPT reminds government officers and staff of guidelines on “sexual harassment” dated July 25, 2009. Spotting the babuz With the announcement of the fifth most powerful bureaucrat in the country, the BoI (Babus of India) list of 5 top babuz will be completed. Watch out this space to get the complete list of India’s 5 most powerful bureaucrats based on feedback received from senior bureaucrats and politicians.

200 officers face music under RTI so far; Penalty imposed by CIC

THE Central Information Commission (CIC) has found a number of officers guilty and imposed penalty in more than 200 RTI (Right to Information Act) cases, minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances & pensions Prithviraj Chavan said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Though details of the officers are not mentioned in the brief written reply to a question, most cases are related to delay in furnishing information. The Commission received 18,803 complaints and appeals during the period 2005-06 to 2007-08. According to information provided by the CIC, the number of applications received by various public authorities during the years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 were 24436, 171404 and 263261 respectively. Information in respect of the 2008-09 and current year are not available, it was informed in Parliament. During 2006-07, a total of 100411 applications were disposed of, but information about the disposal of applications for the other years and about the nature of applications received are not maintained centrally.

Action & Appointments a) The tenure of Shekhar Dutt, a 1969 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS (Retired), and deputy national security adviser in the national security council secretariat has been extended for a period of six months with effect from August 1, 2009. This will be treated as ‘re-employment on contract basis’. b) The appointment of Amber Sen, (RAS:70) (Retd), strategic intelligence adviser in the Cabinet Secretariat has been extended for a period of three months with effect from August 1, 2009. This will also be treated as ‘re-employment on contract basis’. c) The premature repatriation of Dilip Biswas, IDAS (1977), presently working as additional financial advisor in the ministry of defence (finance) to his parent cadre has been approved with immediate effect in order to enable him to avail the benefit of promotion to the next higher grade in the cadre. BoI announcement: List of Babuz soon babu blogger likes to extend sincere thanks to all those visitors including senior civil servants for giving valuable insights into who could possibly be India’s top Babuz --- the new term coined to depict the smartest and most powerful bureaucrats in the country. If you have any name in mind kindly mail me at babu.blogger1@gmail.com

Ministries told to redress grievances of citizens within 2 months

OFFICIALS will no longer be able to sit over files comprising complaints and grievances of aam aadmi after the government issued directions to all ministries and departments to redress grievances of the citizens within a period of two months. Also, with the introduction of a Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), citizens will be able to view the status of his complaint on the web, 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. During the last three and half years (up to June 30, 2009), the total number of cases of public grievance received in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was 109620. For cabinet secretariat, the number for the same period was 101995, the minister informed the Parliament. Steps to weed out corruption in corridors The government has taken up a few steps to implement its policy of “Zero Tolerance against Corruption”. These include: 1) Issue of Whistle Blowers Resolution, 2004 2) Enactment of Right to Information Act, 2005 3) The pro-active involvement of ministry/department through Annual Action Plan on Vigilance as a preventive measures 4) Issues of comprehensive instructions on transparency in tendering & contracting process by the CVC 5) Introduction of e-Governance and simplification of procedures and systems 6) Issue of Citizen Charters.

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