Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gen. SF Rodrigues is at daggers drawn with Minister of State for Finance and Union Banking Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, the MP from Chandigarh. The Chandigarh administration reportedly wants to acquire about 270 acres of agricultural land and sell it to builders at a throwaway price. Bansal argues that a real state developer, Parshwanath, has been allowed to run a non- IT venture in the area earmarked for IT activities and sell the flats at exorbitant prices allegedly to NRIs only. Various citizens’ forums have also joined hands with Bansal, concerned about the loss of green cover.
Refusing to backtrack, the Chandigarh administration asserts that one-third of the amount received from the sale of flats will go to the rehabilitation projects for a large number of slumdwellers. Rodrigues reportedly has a care-two hoots attitude as his mentor, TKA Nair, a retired IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, is in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as Principal Secretary. Sources say that when Rodrigues was Chief of Western Command, headquartered at Panchkula, Haryana, Nair was Chief Secretary of Punjab and cemented a good friendship.
As for Bansal, his main worry is the electorate – especially with the general election not too far away.
Lalli’s rolling – in Gujarat
Yet again, BS Lalli, the retired IAS officer of the UP cadre who is now CEO of Prasar Bharati, is in the thick of a controversy. This time, it is the live coverage of “Vibrant Gujarat”, which reportedly brought him close to Chief Minister Narendra Modi through his personally-appointed Director, Ahmedabad – TS Gagan.
Ignoring all recommendations made by I &B Minister Anand Sharma , Lalli is going ahead with the saffron agenda vigorously. During a recent Parliament session, a BJP MP put up a question on the number of foreign visits Lalli had made since joining Prasar Bharati. Lalli then met Rajnath Singh through a journalist in UNI. Rajnath told the MP to leave Lalli alone as he was “our man”. But the MP, further irked by this, put up another question in the next Parliament session.
Lalli’s ways have left both Priyaranjan Dasmunsi and now Sharma shellshocked, as it is a surprise that he is going against the government of the day to whom he owes his appointment. Dasmunsh had shifted one BM Bakshi, Director, to Tripura for non-performance and RSS links. Lalli tried to bring him back but Dasmunsi refused. Now, with Dasmunsi in the ICU, Bakshi is back with a bang and orchestrating a reshuffle. He has also secured the coveted post of Director of the Delhi centre.
Lalli is being advised on BJP matters by Bakshi and a former Director of Kashmiri origin, who was forced to resign after inquiries were instituted against him while he was posted in the Commercial section of DD.
Woe is UP’s Dalit officers
UP’s State Advisory Committee Chairman Satish Chandra Mishra, the architect of social engineering and the most trusted colleague of Chief Minister Mayawati, seems to be after the Dalit IPS officers of the state. Ram Deo, a 1982 batch IPS officer, was brought to the headquarters of the Director General of UP Police as Inspector General of Police, Establishment – a powerful and lucrative assignment – after Mayawati came to power. Known for an impeccable service record and competence, Ram Deo embarked on making this office corruption-free and ensuring that all files moved only as per the rules. His stint did not last long. He was transferred to the obscure post of IG, Wireless. Sources say he paid the price for not being willing to oblige Mishra and yielding to political intervention in the governance of his department.
It seems the Dalit-Brahmin unity that brought Mayawati to power is becoming a curse for honest officers.
Lalu plan spells doom for officers
A file has sent the officers of the Railway Ministry into a tizzy! Over 80 officers of Indian Railways at the Varanasi Division of North Eastern Railway (NER) might be forced to sit idle if the move, till now a closely guarded secret at Rail Bhawan, gets the approval of the Cabinet.
NER, one of the 16 zones of Indian Railways, has functioned smoothly for the past six decades with its three divisional offices in Lucknow, Izatnagar (Bareilly) and Varanasi. Headquartered at Gorakhpur, it has under its jurisdiction about 1,243 km of rail track. Now, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is planning to add one more division to this zone – to be located at a desolate place, Thave, about 8 km from his native village, Phulwaria, in Bihar’s Gopalganj district.
The proposal is already in the pipeline and, if approved, will snatch about 500 km of rail track from the existing Varanasi Division – rendering the officers of this Division underemployed. Also, development of a new Division will trigger unhealthy competition among railway officers to grab prime posts because of an estimated budget of about Rs 2,000 crore required for the task.
