Rise, fall,…of a supercrat
Like Icarus of yore, Shashank Shekhar Singh, the former pilot who took UP Chief Minister Mayawati’s Sarvajan Samaj programme to soaring heights and was rewarded with the office of the first Cabinet Secretary of the state, lately finds his wings rendered useless and has plummeted to earth.
Shashank Shekhar was once the prime mover behind all of Mayawati’s major policy initiatives. But, if the discerning noticed the dwindling away of the queues of Ministers and bureaucrats outside his office some time ago, his fall from grace was publicly and irrefutably exposed at the function to mark Mayawati’s 53rd birthday on January 15. On the dais at her 5 Kali Das Marg residence, she was flanked by State Advisory Committee Chairman Satish Chandra Mishra and Chief Secretary Atul Kumar Gupta. Shashank Shekhar was seated below, amid other bureaucrats.
Till now, Shashank Shekhar had been perceived as Mayawati’s right hand and Mishra as her left hand. However, Additional Cabinet Secretary Vijay Shanker Pandey has taken Shashank Shekhar’s place. It is Pandey who now conducts all review meetings of departments, with Mishra. Department heads have been issued an order requiring them to report to either Pandey or Mishra.
This toothless visage of Shashank Shekhar is quite a far cry from the smug Cheshire cat he was a year and a half ago. Enjoying full hilt the privileges of being Mayawati’s most trusted lieutenant, he put in place her new administration, true to her character and disposition. Along with his appointment as the first Cabinet Secretary in UP’s history, he had also been made the administrative head – a position that till then belonged to the Chief Secretary. This had understandably caused much resentment in the bureaucracy. Though the IAS officers of the state did not protest against the move, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court, arguing that the appointment was unconstitutional and violated the cadre rules. Subsequently, the state government again amended the Business Rules and restored the position of the Chief Secretary as the head of the administration. However, this was only on paper and Shashank Shekhar continued to oversee all administrative functioning. The first curtailment of Shashank Shekhar’s power came in October last year, when the Chief Minister decreed that he was neither the administrative head nor could he summon the Principal Secretaries who would henceforth report to Pandey.
It is easy to see why Mayawati reposed such absolute faith in this self-styled visionary and reformer. Though she did not appoint him as the supreme boss until her fourth term, she had decided on it during her previous tenure in 2002 03. His style of functioning is similar to hers – authoritarian, disciplinary, forbidding. Yet, officers loyal to him gush about his professionalism – he never takes no for an answer, is a hands-on and on-site officer, and is strict about deadlines. In a state where the bureaucracy holds a secret poll every year to pinpoint the most corrupt official, he is untouched by any scam in a 25-year career.
Shashank Shekhar’s integrity has been acknowledged even by Mayawati’s fiercest rival, former CM Mulayam Singh Yadav. It was the SP chief who first made Shashank Shekhar his Principal Secretary in 1990. Such was the mutual respect that Mulayam rarely turned down a request from one of his favourite officers. An official recalls that a willing Mulayam, then Defence Minister, was hijacked from his aircraft and taken to meet Minister for Culture S Jaipal Reddy, to give permission for Greek musician Yanni to perform at the Taj Mahal. The Yanni concert was a pet project of Shashank Shekhar’s and Mulayam obliged him. But it was not long before Shashank Shekhar was sidelined and shunted to Civil Aviation in Mulayam’s last tenure. His sympathizers say this was done “on the express orders of Amar Singh”.
It is also said that Shashank Shekhar was in touch with Mayawati even before her stunning victory. Immediately after it, the CM’s secretariat (the fifth floor, as it is popularly called) was set up and the state machinery juggled and put in order. Yet, the first person – that too a non-IAS officer – to be elevated to Cabinet Secretary in UP has much of credit in his record. He is obsessed with developing infrastructure, keen on Public-Private Partnerships, and his pet project is to build an international airport in Noida and a 1,000-km Ganga expressway. But most of his plans have failed to fructify. But the proposed airport at Noida hangs in the balance due to the proximity to Delhi’s international airport. Farmers revolted against the Ganga expressway from Ballia to Noida.
Recently, not a single developer submitted the Request For Proposals to execute the 12 multi-crore projects in six major cities under the state government’s Integrated Urban Rejuvenation Plan. The projects include an international convention centre, a super-speciality hospital and an international sports complex in Lucknow, three multi-storied car parks in Ghaziabad and Allahabad, a transport nagar in Varanasi, super-speciality hospitals in Agra and Kanpur, and a ring road. The total cost was estimated at over Rs 2,200 crore. Shashank Shekhar also tried to give a better shape to the rural employment policy and a series of other policy measures for public sector undertakings, particularly in transport and health, but the results are dismal.
Commissioned in the Army in 1970 and reputed to be an ace helicopter pilot, Shashank Shekhar originally came to the state government on deputation. He was absorbed as Director of Civil Aviation in 1980. In the mid-1980s, Chief Minister Vir Bahadur Singh made him Secretary, Civil Aviation. That was the turning point and Shashank Shekhar used the opportunity to the fullest to prove his mettle. He was responsible for the creation of new as well as revival of old and abandoned World War II airfields in the state that then included present-day Uttarakhand. He served in various capacities, including as Principal Secretary of the Tourism and Technical Education departments. He was made CMD of Indian Airlines in 1990, when VP Singh was Prime Minister, but was not relieved by the state government to take up the assignment. During President’s Rule in 1995-96, Governor Romesh Bhandari made him his Principal Secretary.
The first person – that too a non-IAS officer – to be elevated to Cabinet Secretary in UP has much of credit in his record. He is obsessed with developing infrastructure …. But most of his plans have failed to fructify
He never takes no for an answer, is a hands-on and on-site officer, and is strict about deadlines. In a state where the bureaucracy holds a secret poll every year to pinpoint the most corrupt official, he is untouched by any scam in a 25-year career
