OFF THE RECORD review on some of todays headlines…
1. Retired IAS Nirmalkumar Deshmukh opens his own consultancy firm
Mid-Day news today. And it makes sense for any retired bureaucrat to do so instead of playing mere liaisoners in corridors of power. In fact, I would like to congratulate Nirmalkumar Deshmukh for his openness about the same. Many bureaucrats I know, who have served us and who are of the ranks of ACS or even Principal Secretary are coming everyday to Mantralaya with files to be cleared. And do you know what is their status? They get remarks of Ministers on the file, but when the file comes down to the level of clerks and Under Secretary/Deputy Secretary, you will have tears in your eyes to see these senior most IAS officers literally begging in front of them to clear it. When they were in power, dare not any of these clerks or DC/US or even Secretary raise their voice, now these same bureaucrats have to “bribe” them with posting offers or at times even money to get it cleared….Helplessness, but what to do, the big companies for whom they are liaisoning, are not like Government where they can push their works on someone else’s shoulder. In Corporate either perform or perish..So instead of working for these bunch of idiotic, always favoured companies, what is wrong in being a consultant? With so much money earned and every advantage taken, babus please don’t fall prey to salaries and status of these Corporte’s. By the way, FYI, just find out how many of our PWD retired Chief Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries are working for blacklisted firms namely J-Kumar & other infrastructure firms? But I like CM Fadnavis’s move…We need bureaucrats like Gautam Chatterjee, even if retired, as our advisor (currently OSD to CM)…They know every nook & corner of our rule book and will help control major debacles due to RERA…But CM sir, you need to pay attention to Principal Secretaries who are due for ACS rank sitting at home or being sidelined..Anyways no one can say anything in Pravin Foreigner’s rule…Today he controls the biggest names of our bureaucracy…You are wasting talent and services of likes of Arvindkumar, and many others who have been shunted from Housing to other irrelevant posts…
2. Don’t get pally with BJP ministers-Mumbai Mirror
Friends, I’m a regular reader of this paper & my job is to tell you all how certain newspaper or its editor or even the reporter change their stances with time…I have various paper cuttings to prove so..This young reporter, whose father is working for Times of India (retired but on contract), has suddenly changed his stance in last few months. This is strictly my observation and confirmations by many of our common friends. The same reporter who was hell bent on seeing and reporting only positive news come what may ShivSena did, today is seen suddenly cornering Shivsena..For example the above news…”Don’t get pally with BJP Ministers”…This news is negative for Shivsena…Yesterday when Uddhav Thackrey & CM Fadnavis and Narayan Rane were on one stage, nothing of this sort happened. In fact I would like to challenge the reporter on his source..never ever the source is challenged or asked…We journalist when we want to convey our own message, we use the words “as per sources”…is it Aditya’s tiff with him for not inviting him in inner circle anymore or is it that finally BJP city chief has managed to make a “mark”up on the reporter? And yes, whatever predictions like SS will break with BJP, Desai & Raote will get the chop from Ministry, till now nothing of that has happened my friend….how about some actual reporting?
3. Mumbai Metro 3: Sudhir Shrivastava’s note had flagged transparency issues
One of the biggest reason for abrupt transfer of Sudhir Shrivastava from Finance department to Home is this headline today…but friends this is just one; Shrivastava has a lot to take credit…an absolute clean and of impeccable image officer…again a huge talent/apt bureaucrat wasted by /CM Fadnavis…I think nowadays it’s fashion for Mr. Pardeshi to transfer all good & able bureaucrats to Home…even all of them who belong to Housing or Finance backgrounds..Anyways, me and my friend Kiran Tare of India Today were chasing Shrivastava to know what went wrong and why was he shunted abruptly. But Shrivastava, otherwise friendly, was not even meeting us after he was shunted out…Apparently today Times of India got the news…Mind you this is 6 month old case…I think the Times of India reporter who has done the story must have coaxed Shrivastava to spill to beans through a former Shivsena CM-now with Congress…as Shrivastava, it is said, was and is very close to him…Also if our sources are to be believed, apparently CM Fadnavis had actually shouted in front of the whole cabinet when Shrivastava brought forward this issue of escalation of cost of Metro rail…He was transferred immediately…
