Bureaucracy of Maharashtra these days!
If most of the expert opinion-makers, ex Ministers, ex MLA’s/MLC’s, current Ministers, current MLA’s/MLCs and we journalists are confused as to what is happening in Maharashtra, how the most important pillar of democracy i.e. bureaucracy will be knowing as to what is happening on the political front? They too are in confused state of mind. The governments and equations are changing so fast, that if you are ‘labeled’ as a Fadnavis man/woman, a Thackeray comes as CM next and transfers you just because you have that Fadnavis tag. Then what do you do, for the rest of your life till Thackeray is the CM you are trying to convey that I am an able officer, just that ex CM and we as family have the same home-town or we are of the same caste. But till Thackeray remains the CM, there is no respite. Hence it is a proven fact for the bureaucrats, that you can have your loyalties with a political party or you can have your favourite politician, but keep it strictly to your heart. Don’t behave like you own the system when your person becomes the CM. Had this been the case the likes of Dr Nitin Kareer or Bhushan Gagrani (just to name a few) or many more such seasoned officers, wouldn’t have survived at good posts for so long. But I feel for few IAS/IPS, who since years have never seen a good posting in Maharashtra even when there was a NCP/Congress Govt, the BJP government, the MVA or be the Shinde/Fadnavis/Pawar government; just to add, some of these good officers sidelined are Maratha, some are from Vidarbha, some are from early ’90’s batch, some are from UP/Bihar; mentioning this because in Maharashtra if you are anyone of the above, you are given preference whilst selection of a good posting.
Fun in Maharashtra is only meant for ‘promotee’ officers as compared to the direct recruits. The reason I say so is because promotee know their way inside the system since they start as Dy Collectors. They know which ‘dalaal’ to catch and how to manage the Minister. It takes years for cadre people to understand this and by the time they understand, they are already reporting to the promotee who is no way closer to him/her intellectually and in capability (in most cases). Not taking away anything from promotee’s. They too are very efficient but few are the ones like those doctors whose medical degree is a big question mark. Today Samruddhi highway is because of the efforts of a Promotee IAS officer
I was very disturbed when I heard about Sanjeev Jaiswal. I was travelling but I feel this was one of the first attacks of central agencies on the bureaucracy of Maharashtra years after ‘Aadarsh’ had happened and few of them were sent to the jail.
Central agencies are so active then what is our state ACB doing? Here the Anti-Corruption Department is also a sitting duck in front of politicians as conviction rates have drastically fallen. They know how to catch big fishes, in fact at times they also have the relevant proof’s but they have to surrender against the political will (of the caught officer) or the case is weak. Then the ACB has to find solace in trapping of the lowest level of officer who gets caught while accepting Rs. 500 as bribe; rarely do they have a big catch but if they do then the caught officer is well oiled as he/she knows which one to use where to go scott free.
Coming to Sanjeev Jaiswal, I don’t want to comment on the issue as already a lot has been written about it. But is he the only one whose hands are ‘allegedly’ dirty? What about his bosses in the BMC at that time of handing over the contracts during Covid? Was the contract given only on Sanjeev’s signature? What about the Minister of Urban Development Department and then CM who MUST have instructed Jaiswal to award a contract to this particular hospital and to this particular firm? Has Sanjeev alone eaten the whole pie, no never! Forget it, there are so many ‘retired’ IAS-IPS who I know, who still are on important corporations who have been served income tax notices. Next, what happened to the officers whose names were in the diary when Income Tax raided a few liaisons of Maharashtra 2 years back? Very recently, a builder of Navi Mumbai (Bhatija) was raided by IT. What happened to that list of officers whose names were doing the rounds on WhatsApp whose money was invested with this builder and the diary was caught? What happens to such cases? Does it meet the same fate as DIsha Salian or the SSR case? Selective action is the core of politicians and they use it when it is necessary.
When people like Sanjeev Jaiswal are raided, or often, when there are transfers of good officers (IAS/IPS) even when they don’t complete their term of service, a very senior IAS officer of the Maharashtra government got talking to me on these topics. He said, Vikrant, “OK raids, inquiries are fine as there is no fire without smoke. We officers are not Ram Avatars that we should be spared, but tell me, isn’t this a political vendetta taking place in Maharashtra right now which has come down to the bureaucracy?” “Agreed sir” I said! He continued, “Vikrant, today just today keeping public interest at large, we senior bureaucrats chalk out a plan, then make policies and get it implemented. Suppose after 2 years the government changes, what is the guarantee that the new government will not come out lashing at us, that in this particular policy which you made 2 years ago, you have made a lot of money. You had vested interests and hence you had made this. How do we work now in such an environment?” Hence, he said, now we are NOT going to draw any developmental plans, nor make any new policy until unless it is coming from the Centre. We will simply implement it. And if any policy has to be done, it will be a consensual decision of all 3 political parties. Is it our fault that dalal’s/liaisons/Ministers and MLA’s find smallest of lacunas in our policies and make money? How are we to be blamed here? By the way, does IAS association even exists, just asking!!
I told him, sir, next time when any ‘gadbad’ file comes to you, it is a very old trick which many ‘smart’ officers used I told him, what do they do, whenever a file has to be cleared obviously the Minister or the CM or the DCM calls that particular Secretary or Principal Secretary. I told him, sir, henceforth when the call comes obviously there are loopholes in the file which the Minister or the CM or the DCM has asked you to take care of. Very smartly just mention on the file that ‘As per instructions OR tele-con with Hon’ble Minister/CM/DCM …., BUT as per my views..then your comments of the file’. Let the Minister sign it and let him take the onus of the file as he will read both the comments of yours before he signs. It will help save good officers.This I told him if the file is a bit tricky; but at the same time in routine files it is the moral duty of that IAS to protect the Minister.
Vikrant Hemant Joshi.
