Yearn For Big Post, Officer Tense, Dog’s Day & More

Who’s this IAS officer?

An intriguing tale has recently hogged the newspaper headlines in the state. A woman lodged a complaint at a police station against her husband, a Congress leader. But her yarn spun on a different axis because after her complaint at the police station, it came to light that before marrying the Congress leader, she had wedded an IAS officer whom she divorced. Now, people in the corridors of power, especially the bureaucrats, are keen to know about the IAS officer whose wife had divorced him and walked down the aisle with another person.

A few former bureaucrats were acquainted with the story, but now, most of the officers have hardly had any information about it. Particularly, the young officers are clueless about Sahib whose wife divorced him. Nevertheless, a few bureaucrats gradually ferreted out the name of the officer with whom such a bizarre affair had happened. The officer is still in the state capital but out of the mainstream administration. Anyway, he has always been in the loop line.

One year

One year is left for the retirement of a promotee IAS officer. Now, he is posted in the loop line. The officer who has always held important positions does not want to retire from the loop line. He is making efforts to get an important department where he may work for one year. Because the higher-ups are angry with the officer, a decision on his transfer to an important department will not be taken.

The politician, whose annoyance led to the officer’s shifting from an important position to the loop line, will take the decision on his transfer. He is making all efforts to please that important person. Sahib has already explained the reasons which led to his removal from the previous position . An important politician also recommended his transfer from the present place of posting. Other officers are also helping him so that he can get a plum posting before his retirement. Now, the officer is waiting for forgiveness from the politician so that he may get a proper posting.

Waiting continues

An important work is going to take place across the country. Preparations are underway for the event. The condition of the department, which has been asked to do the work, is running about like a headless chicken. The department has been functioning without an officer for several months. After the retirement of a woman officer, the department is without a boss. Although the department is functioning from the state capital, the Central Government appoints an officer for it. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issues orders on the state government’s panel for posting an officer in the department, but it has not issued any such order. A woman officer posted there was shifted to another place. The state government has sent panels twice to the Centre for appointment to the department, but until now, the higher-ups have not selected an officer for the job. A secretary-rank officer intended to join the department, but the government did not approve his name. Now, the names of some officers have been sent for the post. A promotee officer is keen to join the department.

Yearn for big post

A senior IAS officer from the MP cadre, who is posted in Delhi, recently visited Bhopal. Sahib came to participate in an official meeting, but he informally met a few officers. During the talks, it came to light that he might join as the head of the state bureaucracy after Bade Sahib’s retirement.

When the issue figured in the discussion, the smile that flashed across Sahib’s face signified several things. But it was clear that he was keen to take up the reins of the state administration. Once Bade Sahib retires, his position will be higher than many of his colleagues on the seniority list.

His posting in the Central Government is a plus point for him. Bade Sahib’s opinion, if sought, will go in favour of this officer. A few months ago, Sahib was shifted from an important department to an insignificant place. The reason cited for the transfer is that Sahib delays taking decisions on an issue, which enraged a senior officer.

Officer tense

A senior IAS officer was targeted for an incident in the Vidhan Sabha. The circumstances forced the officer to explain the matter at different levels. Afterwards, an amendment tabled in the House brought the situation under control. What brought relief for the officer was that the Congress legislator, who raised the issue of slip shots in a reply, had been the minister of the department which the question was concerned with. When the legislator was the minister, the officer was the principal secretary of the department.

So, the legislator did not give much importance to the issue. Similarly, when a minister was replying to a question on another issue, he was annoyed about the absence of the officer from the House. The problem with the officer was that as the minister was replying to the question, he was attending a meeting chaired by Bade Sahib. As soon as he came to know of it, he rushed to the House, but by the time he reached there, the minister had finished his reply. There is tension in the department because of these incidents.

Dog’s day

From the Supreme Court to the Vidhan Sabha, everyone is discussing dogs. A few people are in favour of man’s best friend, as canines are called, but some others are fed up with their devilries. An IAS officer who lives in a house at a posh colony in the state capital belongs to the second group. The problem with him is that a pack of dogs gathers outside his residence and yaps day and night. Sahib recently called a team from Nagar Nigam, which caught the dogs. The team took the dogs to a far-flung area and left them there. But the naughty canines have returned one after another to the place from where they were caught and have begun to camp outside his residence.

Now, Sahib is mounting pressure on the officials of the civic body, asking them to rescue him from those annoying barkers. But the officers of the municipal corporation are clueless about how to deal with these devils. All his efforts to handle these yappers fell through. Sahib, who once headed the municipal corporation, knows handling these dogs is a difficult task. Now, he is waiting to hit upon a clue to get rid of these devils.