Saturday, April 4, 2015

RE: [IAC#RG] CAN IAS OFFICERS FUNCTION LIKE REBELS ?

4/4/15
No, they cannot act as a rebel. They have to faithfully implement the policy of the Govt. They have to objectively consider the pros and cons. and point them out, but the final decision rests with the Minister who is elected by the people.
You have correctly stated what is expected of a civil servant and the avenues open to him for redressal of grievances . It is certainly not going to the press. I have been a civil servant for 6 years in the begining of my career though at a junior level.
There is an inherent tendency among senior civil servants to delay decisions for fear of incurring the displea..sure of the superiors or other exterior considerations. The PM had to call a meeting of secretary level officers to work fearlessly. They in turn expressed apprehensions of being victimised under Anti-corruption Rules and have asked for certain amendments. Let us see what amendments the Govt. brings. As it is, Anti corruptions laws have failed in its object as the RTI act has.
Khemka became famous through Vadra land deals. Kejriwal also exploited the same issue. Arent the two chips of the same block.?
And both have gone quiet today on the issue.
Regds
JKGaur

Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2015 10:17:29 -0500
From: nsvenkatchennai@gmail.com
To: indiaresists@lists.riseup.net
Subject: [IAC#RG] CAN IAS OFFICERS FUNCTION LIKE REBELS ?

To
 India Against Corruption                     

                                                               CAN  IAS  OFFICERS  FUNCTION  LIKE  REBELS ?

 Of late, some IAS officers are seen and heard criticising the government that they serve. They unhesitatingly participate in debates in television media making critical remarks about the ministers and policies and methods of the government. One wonders what is the "Lakshman Rekha" for these serving IAS  officers who really sound like rebels.

Obviously, Mr. Ashok Khemka  who has become well known by  frequently defying the government, getting transferred and getting huge publicity whenever such transfers occur and readily giving  his views in media and answering  questions from journalists, has raised   questions as to what would be the rights and responsibilities of an IAS officer and whether the service rule permit such rebellious methods. Mr. Khemka has got away with such approach so far, possibly due to the friendly media that support him all the time even without ascertaining the facts  and a government that is unwilling to put its foot down, fearing the media and the so called public opinion.

The fact is that an IAS officer has to obey the orders of the ministers who are voted to power by the people. If he is given an illegal order or an order in which he has no agreement , he is entitled to request the minister to give the order in writing. If the minister would give the order in writing, he has no alternative other than obeying the order, even if he would not agree ; after recording his dissenting note on the file.

Moreover, IAS officer has the responsibility to ensure smooth functioning of the government apparatus by not adopting an approach of confrontation and friction with the minister, by having a "holier than thou" attitude.

People know the happenings in the government only through media. While Mr. Khemka may have his stand, the ministers too may have the stand and every time Mr. Khemka accuses the ministers , the ministers refute such accusations. For the public, there is no real way to know who is right and who is wrong.

In any case, it is absolutely irresponsible and unbecoming of serving IAS officer to give media interviews , criticising the government. The right course open to him is to go to the administrative tribunal, which looks into the issues concerning the IAS officers and give it's decisions.

Mr. Khemka and some of his similar friends are creating unhealthy precedent which will inevitably weaken the administrative structure and create a new  unhealthy practice and set bad example to the juniors.

Mr. Khemka and his friends should keep in mind that his juniors may also show  similar attitude towards them, due to any right or wrong reasons, learning from them.

 

N.S.Venkataraman

Nandini Voice For The Deprived

nsvenkatchennai@gmail.com

nandinivoice.com

twitter : @nsvchennai

 

 


Post: "indiaresists@lists.riseup.net" Exit: "indiaresists-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net" Quit: "https://lists.riseup.net/www/signoff/indiaresists" Help: https://help.riseup.net/en/list-user WWW : http://indiaagainstcorruption.net.in

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.