New Delhi: Days before the Narendra Modi government repatriated school education secretary Rina Ray to her parent cadre, it had removed coal secretary Sumanta Chaudhuri, ThePrint has learnt.
“He has been not been sent to his cadre yet, but he has been kept without a posting,” said an official familiar with the development.
While the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet issued an order appointing Anil Kumar Jain, a Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer of the 1986 batch, as the new coal secretary on 20 September, no order has been issued regarding Chaudhuri’s posting or repatriation. Chaudhuri is an IAS officer of the 1985 batch.
“As of now, he continues to work for the Government of India, but has no assignment,” the official added.
While the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) did not respond to ThePrint’s requests for a comment, it is learnt that his ouster came over some alleged disagreements with the PMO.
ThePrint also contacted Chaudhuri, but he declined to comment on the issue.
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Frequent transfers
Chaudhuri, appointed coal secretary in November 2018, was given less than a year in the ministry.
“What is odd is that he has been kept without a posting and no order has been issued yet,” said another IAS officer known to Chaudhuri. “With Rina (Ray), for example, the government immediately issued orders for repatriation, then with Subhash Garg also, the government immediately posted him to the power ministry.”
In July, the Modi government had suddenly shifted Subhash Chandra Garg, a 1983-batch IAS officer, from the prestigious finance ministry to the less prominent power ministry. Garg subsequently opted for voluntary retirement from the service.
Earlier this week, the government removed school education secretary, Ray, a 1984-batch IAS officer, and repatriated her to the AGMUT cadre. According to sources in the government, Ray was removed after some disagreements over policy issues with the PMO.
As reported by ThePrint earlier, even in its first term, the Modi government transferred secretary-level officers frequently and abruptly.
Chaudhuri’s predecessor in the coal ministry, Inder Jit Singh, a 1985-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, for example, had an even shorter stint in the coal ministry.
While he was appointed coal secretary in June 2018, he was removed by November and sent off to the less prestigious Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
“The question to be asked is that why do officers who are seen as competent by the same government suddenly found to be undeserving or incompetent?” a retired officer asked.
“Both Rina (Ray) and Sumanta Chaudhuri were empanelled and appointed by the same government, then what happened?”
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Dr. G. Sundaram, Retd IAS was Secretary to the Govt of India. …. He wrote in Prologue Page 1 of his autobiography that
“Public blame the politicians all the time, which the politicians deserve. At the same time, they may not know about the Civil Service politicians (second rung of Politicians) who are in fact more dangerous than the professional politicians and only brute political force or backing works with them and no more fine sensibilities like an honest and straightforward appeal work.”
The book name is “Plight of Honesty – The Untold Bureaucracy”
The writer may not be aware of Civil servants working that’s why the postings and tenure of civil service officers may be seen in this context.
This Govt only wants His Master’s Voice civil servants. It is a very dangerous trend that they are setting
A lighter touch can sometimes be more effective. Each ministry should be an almost autonomous entity, within the ideological policy framework of the government. A blend of a Minister who has a solid grounding in public life and affairs and a Secretary who understands the complexities of government working. Micro management has not translated into superior outcomes. On a lighter note, perhaps insomnia and hypertension.