State of confusion
Whenever the time for retirement of the head of the state administration nears, Mantralaya seems to be in a state of confusion. Since the day of the appointment of the present incumbent in office, the people in the corridors of power have been saying that he may get an extension. As the time for his retirement is nearing, there are speculations. Most of the officers feel the Bade Sahib will get an extension. However sure they may be about it, guesswork about the names of some officers has begun. The names of three senior officers are doing the rounds for the top job.
Two of them are posted in the state, and the other officer is working for the centre. There are reports that the officer posted to the centre is keen to become the head of the state administration. Because the officer is quiet by nature, he is not open to many people, but he is trying to know through his links about what is happening to the top job in the state administration. Most of the officers in the state want him not to come from Delhi as the administrative head of the state.
Search for officer
A search is underway for an IAS officer to take command of an employees’ organisation of a particular caste. An officer, heading it for a long time, is going to retire. The other members of the organisation feel the officer should continue to head the association even after his retirement. On the other hand, the officer does not want to head the organisation after his retirement. He wants to give advice to the organisation as a member of the Marg Darshak Mandal from outside.
The Sahib has shortlisted the names of some officers for the post of new head of the organisation. Because the association is related to a particular caste, the officers are being picked from that clan to head it. The organisation is mulling over the name of an officer who is on deputation to the centre for the job. His name is doing the rounds for the post. This officer is returning from the centre to the state. As he was a student of Saraswati Sishu Mandir, his taking over the command of the organisation will make the RSS happy. This is the reason why there is a possibility of consensus over his name.
A tale of two rooms
Two rooms are considered the best in Mantralaya. One of them is situated on the second floor of the new building, and the other is on its third floor. Seven years ago, when Mantralaya was under construction, two powerful officers got the interior of these rooms designed according to their choice. The government was changed after the election. One of the officers sat in one of the rooms that he got designed according to his choice. But the other officer went to the centre on deputation. The other officer continued to work from the room.
Now, such a situation has come that an officer has both the rooms. After an officer took VRS, the senior officer got the room allotted to his name. Just as the officer began to sit in the room, he got the charge of another department in an administrative reshuffle. The second most well-designed room is reserved for the department, which has been handed over to the senior officer. Now, the Sahib has both the rooms, as the departments for which these two rooms are reserved are with the Sahib. For this reason, the officer is in no mood to vacate any.
Waiting for transfer
A principal secretary (PS) is trying for posting to one of the two departments. The Sahib thinks he will get one of the two departments. The Sahib has told those close to him that he will be shifted to an important department. Two transfer lists were out in July, but the Sahib was not shifted to any of the two departments that he had set his eyes on. On the other hand, he is happy that nobody has been transferred to the two departments where he wants to go. Now, the officer is waiting for the third transfer list.
The Sahib was once in the loop line, but after the formation of the government, he was showered with many important assignments. After the change of head of the administration, the number of departments the Sahib had began to reduce. Against this backdrop, the Sahib has tried for his transfer to an important department. The Bade Sahib does not have a high opinion of this officer.
Feeling sad
A senior officer wants to accompany the head of state on a foreign trip. The officer thinks if he accompanies the big boss during his foreign trip, his intimacy with the head will grow. Every time the head of state sets out on a foreign trip, he thinks his name will be included in the team going abroad. But as his name is not included in the team, he feels sad. The Sahib was keen to accompany the head of state this time, too. When the foreign itinerary of the big boss was prepared, the names of a battery of officers were included in the team, but this officer did not get a chance. During the foreign trip, the issues related to his departments were discussed with the officer.
In fact, the other officers do not like this senior officer, so nobody recommends his name for a foreign trip with the head of state. The name of this officer does not figure in the list of those whom the head of state and the head of the administration like. This is the reason that the higher-ups do not consider his name for a foreign tour. The officer has made every effort to be in the good books of the top bosses, but these people get angry with him for one reason or another.
The return
A principal secretary (PS) and a secretary are returning to the state by the end of this month. Both went abroad on study leave. Though the period of their study leave ended, they got one month’s extension, for their course did not finish. When they return, they will get a posting, but the PS does not want to come back now.
The family members of this officer are abroad, so he is not keen on returning to the country. But he must return once the period of extension of study leave is over. On the other hand, an secretary-level officer will return from central deputation by September. A woman officer, deputed to the centre, is going to retire in September. Although she is on deputation, the officer is posted in Bhopal. The state-cadre officers are given priority to the post that she is holding. Thus, a search for an officer to post in her place is underway.
