NEW DELHI, 1 September — As transfers of officials by Chief Minister Mayawati’s government in Uttar Pradesh continue, the top bureaucracy in has sought judicial intervention.
In an unprecedented move, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Association of the state has sought to be heard in a case pending with the Supreme Court concerning the transfer of an officer.
The request, however, was made orally through association counsel Biswajeet Bhattacharya Thursday instead of in writing. "We had no option but to take recourse to legal remedy against the whimsical manner in which the present chief minister is shuffling bureaucrats," said an officer. He said this was in utter violation of all rules. While the Supreme Court is yet to decide on the request, IAS officers in the state are keeping their fingers crossed.
Mayawati has shifted nearly 80 percent of the 450 odd IAS officers belonging to the Uttar Pradesh cadre. Many of them have been transferred three to five times since she came to power in May, the officers say. They allege she has disregarded the Civil Services Board (CSB) created by the government of previous Chief Minister Rajnath Singh to regulate and streamline the transfers of IAS officers. The transfer issue had created a sharp divide in the state IAS Association, leading to a revolt against association chief A.K. Rastogi, the senior-most IAS officer in the state.
The chairman of the State Board of Revenue, Rastogi was accused of being silenced by sops from the chief minister who gave him additional charge of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation.
When he refused to convene a meeting of the association to discuss the issue, bureaucrats threatened to revolt following which Rastogi resorted to damage control. He was, however, promptly divested of his charge in the power corporation.
Subsequently, officers sent a delegation to the chief minister only to be accused by her of using "political influence" to get chosen postings.
"I am continuing with the transfers because of the pressure of political leaders and legislators who keep coming to me with the recommendations of various officers," she told the delegation. The officers continue to be a disgruntled lot.
A senior IAS officer said: "Never before in the history of the state have bureaucrats been transferred with such frequency that it becomes difficult to keep track of your colleagues!" "The administration is going to the dogs as there is no continuity."
