Lucknow146;s merry-go-round

Every chief minister wishes to have direct control over every wing of the administration and there is nothing unexceptional about wanting to have one8217;s own officers in key posts. Many, particularly those suffering excessively from paranoia 8212; like J. Jayalalithaa, for instance 8212; have ensured precisely this. But the compulsions of the chief minister must necessarily be weighed against the possibly negative fall-out that such arbitrary action would have on the administration of the state, especially in terms of the continuity of developmental and other agendas. Further, such action should be taken only after considering each individual case carefully. There is no way Mayawati could have brought such scrupulous attention to the current bout of transfers. It8217;s disquieting to consider that she may have been guided in this by little more than the surnames of the various officers that bespoke their caste backgrounds. While the empowerment of Dalits and other marginalised communities is, of course, an important consideration for Mayawati, and indeed for every concerned citizen, appointing Dalit officers just for their symbolic value is unlikely in itself to effect a social transformation, which surely is what such politics is all about. Further, Mayawati has not even bothered to follow elementary form and wait until she has been able to prove her majority in the Assembly on May 17, before commencing on her transfer spree.

Such action undermines the distinct identity of the administrative and police services and affects officer morale. The sub-text is that unless an officer kowtows to the political powers that be, his or her life can be rendered extremely difficult and uncertain. The recent events in Gujarat, where the supposed steel frame of the civil and police administration went into quick meltdown the moment it was expected to stand firm in the face of a dangerous spiral of sectarian violence, underlines the need for administrative independence. These are not new issues and they figure in the public arena every now and then. Last year, the Supreme Court took cognisance of it and had directed the Rajnath Singh-led government to regulate its transfer policy so that it conformed to certain norms. The court wished that a special board be set up to ensure such regulation. Sadly, despite the fact that the Civil Services and Establishment Board had subsequently been set up, Mayawati did not consider it necessary to even convene a meeting of the Board before she signed all those transfer orders. This is a blatant contravention of a court ruling and she would be wise to reconsider her misguided and arbitrary transfer policy.

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