Himachal Confidential

Past,present,future

Strange things are happening in the bureaucracy these days. Though some “retirees” among the top babus were given prime jobs,a few secretary-rank bureaucrats had to go home disappointed. Currently,two former chief secretaries and an additional chief secretary are giving their services to the government. The bureaucratic circles are now debating the prospects of incumbent Chief Secretary Rajwant Sandhu,who has only a few months to retire. It is a different story that Sandhu has created more “enemies in the bureaucracy” than well wishers. But till Dhumal is on her side,Sandhu will continue to call the shots.

ISBT woes

Shimla’s newly built Rs 70-crore ISBT — the state’s BOT project — has created more problems for the residents than offering solution to their woes. Connectivity between the new ISBT and old city is a major problem but no steps have been to taken address the issue. Unless the government is able to run a shuttle bus service — frequently running between the new ISBT and the town — residents and tourists will continue to suffer.

Surprise change

Change of leadership in Uttarakhand came so fast that many BJP leaders — mostly dissidents — in Himachal Pradesh were surprised. The reasons are quite obvious. The dissidents,not from Uttarakhand but from Himachal,had camped in Delhi and met party national president Nitin Gadkari. They were closely followed by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and his loyalists,who wanted to appraise Gadkari on the state’s political scenario. Immediately after this,there was change in leadership in the neighbourhood state. The dissidents in Himachal now realise that they perhaps acted “prematurely” and went to Gadkari unprepared,thus,were quickly bundled back safely. It will take time for them to “re-group”.