Overheard In Bhopal: Shattered Hopes, Officer Upset, Confusion Prevails, Efforts For Posting & More

Shattered hopes

The name of a woman IAS officer on the The transfer list recently issued by the govern-ment has shattered the hopes of many of her colleagues. None of them expected the woman officer, who recently returned from the year-long study leave, to get such an important department. Two senior officers had an eye on the department, and a principal secretary was making all efforts to go there. So, they expected to get the department. A senior officer is generally posted there, but the Sahib hardly knew the woman officer would be given charge of the department. There are reports that a woman officer who had the additional charge of the department wanted to keep it in place of another department. Now that a woman officer has been sent to the department, the officers trying to go there are now lobbying for transfer to other important departments.

Officer upset

A senior IAS officer got a shock after he was deprived of a department. The department may not have been important, but he enjoyed working there. Although he did not have much work in the department, he enjoyed the facilities available there. So, he wanted to keep the depart-ment under him. An officer who was about to return to the state was to be posted to a department. Most of the important departments are full to their capacity. So, he has been given two departments. Out of the two, one has been taken from the senior IAS officer. The principal secretary-rank officer also showed interest in the department. On the other hand, the senior officer was trying to get an important department during the administrative reshuffle, but instead of giving him a key responsibility, the government reduced the number of departments functioning under him. In fact, the office of the head of de-partment controls it. The officer posted in Man-tralaya does not have much control over the department. Despite this, the senior officer is upset after being deprived of the department. The fate of the officer is such that a department does not remain under him for a long time.

Search underway

An officer posted in a department is going to Aretire this month. From the governments point of view, this department is highly signifi-cant, but most of the senior IAS officers avoid joining this department. Only those in the loop line are keen on joining this place. The higher-ups in the government mulled over the names of two IAS officers for transfer to this department. An officer has again been brought to the mainstream administration by transferring him to Mantralaya. The officer, now in the loop line in Mantralaya, may be transferred to the department. The name of another officer, also in Mantralaya, is under consideration. He may also be posted to the department. On a previous occasion, his name was discussed for posting to this department, but another senior officer was shifted there. But the officer does not want to join this department.

Confusion prevails

As August is advancing, confusion among the bureaucrats over an issue is intensifying. Their point of discussion is centred around whether the head of administration will get an extension. There are two groups: one says he will remain in office. They believe the Bade Sahib has received the centre s nod to stay in his present position, but the other group says he will get a fresh responsibility. They say the Bade Sahib is set to get an important position in Delhi, and he will go there. There is another group, which hardly bothers about whether he gets an extension or retires. There is yet another issue: who will take over as head of the state administration after his retirement? Several names are doing the rounds for it. Among them the name of an officer, who has already held several important positions, is being discussed for the top job. The people in the corridors of power say the secrets will be out in the last week of August.

Up the creek

An IAS officer posted in an important department is in a spot these days. He is under pressure to make decisions on some important issues. The Sahib has forwarded the certain files to the higher-ups. For some irregularities found in the files, a reply was sought from the officer. He has been asked to sift through the papers. Now, the Sahib is in a bind. The views of two persons over the issues are different. One of them is asking the officers to clear the files, and the other is advising him not to take any decision. He says a decision on the issues should be taken after a thorough checking. The problem with the officer is that both the persons are very important. If he ignores any one of them, he will face the music. As the officer has already been in a bind, he is taking every step with cau-tion. People in the corridors of power say as the interest of important people relates to the files, the officer is worried.

Efforts for posting

An IPS officer is lobbying for an important post. The officer got a plum posting after the government formation. After his posting, there were so many controversies in the department that the government had to shift him from there. He kept quiet for some time after the shifting, but now, he is again making efforts to get an important position. The sahib has set his eyes on some important places and made efforts to go there. He is also attempting to please some important people in the government to achieve the goal. He previously got a posting by using his clout. This time, too, he is using his influence to get an important posting, but the problem with the officer is his image. His name has tarnished further in the past few days. Against this backdrop, it is not possible for him to get a plum posting if a senior officer is there.