Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh):
Master’s plan
An IAS officer may be out of the state, but he has set his eyes on Bhopal’s Master Plan. During his posting in Bhopal, the officer bought many plots, expecting that whenever the government carried out the Master Plan, the cost of the land would increase. The government seems to have thrown cold water on his plans. Now, the Sahib thinks whenever the Master Plan is implemented, there will be some changes in it. The plots he had bought with his partner have come under the green belt in the Master Plan. Ergo, he may not find buyers for those plots for several years from now. Now, the Sahib feels the chances of the Master Plan being carried out before the election are thin. He wants to get some changes made in the Master Plan after the election. On the other hand, the government is keen to implement it before the election.
Set to go to Delhi
A woman Principal Secretary (PS) is set to go to Delhi on deputation. The government has replaced her with another female officer who has been sent to the department the PS was heading. The PS had been making efforts to go to Delhi on deputation for several months, but the government did not relieve her. Now that the government has agreed to relieve her, she is packing up her things to go to the national capital. Her husband, however, has to stay in Bhopal, since his empanelment for the Centre has yet to be done. She decided to leave the state after an incident, in fact. A probe agency issued a notice to her, and she got a dressing-down from a Sahib holding a constitutional position as well. That incident upset her so much that she wanted to say goodbye to the state. Since she is going to Delhi, another female officer has got a chance to work for the department that the PS was heading. There is a long queue of female IAS officers wishing to go to the Centre.
Not returning
An IAS officer posted to Delhi has decided not to return to the state. Although he has some years left in service, he does not want to return to the state. The Centre has recently appointed him as a secretary to an important department. Immediately after getting the important position, he told his friends that he would not return to the state. His locking horns with a senior IAS officer weighed heavy on him and, after that, he was removed from the department. He was so upset after the incident, that he went to Delhi on deputation. The Central Government gave him responsible positions. Now, he is reluctant to return to the state. About this officer, it is said, that since his position is equal to that of the additional chief secretary, he may be one of the aspirants for the post of chief secretary in the state in the coming years.
Saving grace
A Principal Secretary (PS)-rank officer has somehow saved his face despite the Chief Minister’s annoyance at him. The CM was very angry with the PS posted in an important department. It was because of the PS that the department was very slowly functioning. An important project, which the CM had expected to progress fast, was in a shambles. Displeased with the officer, the CM finally removed him from the department. Nonetheless, because of the officer’s clean image, the Chief Secretary saved him from the CM’s wrath and posted him to an important department. Since the PS has been given an important assignment, the message, that he was removed from a crucial department, did not percolate down to the lower-rung officers. There are whispers in the corridors of power that he will soon go to the Centre on deputation. Because the officer avoids taking responsibility, the work in the departments, where he is posted, moves at a snail’s pace.
Bagful of money
The government is rolling up its sleeves to transfer many officers after the Election Commission’s direction to transfer the bureaucrats completing three years of field posting. A collector’s name will be on the transfer list. So, the Sahib, trying to get posting in a district, is ready to give sweetener to anyone who can help him. He is making efforts to carry out his plan through a legislator, so that he is transferred to a district. The law-maker, with whom the collector runs several businesses in the district where he is posted now, has also taken a crack at helping him. To get posting in an important district, the collector has made a big offer to the legislator. The officer is also tapping other sources, so that he may not lose his collectorship, and has met an influential minister for it. The fact is that the officer, who has made a lot of money through backhanders during his posting to the district, wants to spend part of it to save his collectorship.
Feeling harassed
A Commissioner is fed up with the minister of his department. The minister dresses him down without any reason. Quiet by nature, the officer tries to quell the minister’s anger, but his efforts to do that make her angrier than she usually is. The dejected officer has told the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) that working with the minister is becoming difficult for him. The ACS advised the Commissioner not to take the minister’s words to heart. Since this minister is not on good terms with any officers, they cannot work in her department for a long time. Few can withstand the pressure the minister mounts on the officers; yet she has not been able to improve the functioning of her department.
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