Reshuffle triggers storm in bureaucracy

Hyderabad: The major reshuffle effected on Tuesday by the government in the bureaucracy has triggered a storm in the state administration in Telangana. The government has stunned the bureaucratic circles by appointing nearly half a dozen senior most IAS officers, out of 27 transfers, to low cadre posts and some junior officials to senior positions.

Perhaps for the first time in the last four years in Telangana, Special Chief Secretary cadre officers were shunted out of the Secretariat and appointed to posts which were lower in rank than Secretary.  For instance, the 1986 batch IAS officer and Special Chief Secretary to Revenue BR Meena has been transferred and posted as Secretary to SC and ST Commission in Hyderabad.

The 1985 batch IAS officer and Special Chief Secretary to Animal Husbandry department Suresh Chanda has been appointed Member Secretary to the Telangana State Finance Commission.

The two senior IAS officers were performing duties in the rank of Special Chief Secretaries and they should be given posts equal to their rank. But they were posted to positions which were either Secretary or lower than the rank of Secretary.

Similarly, the 1993 batch IAS officer and State Excise and Prohibition Commissioner RV Chandravadan was transferred and posted as Commissioner and EO, Secretary, Revenue (Disaster Management) department. Another 1998 batch IAS officer and Minority Welfare Department Secretary Syed Omar Jaleel was transferred and posted as Collector to Vikarabad district. The two senior officials were also appointed to the posts below their ranks. 

Another senior 1996 batch IAS officer Navin Mittal was posted as Commissioner, Collegiate Education and Technical Education. Till now, they are holding the posts of the rank of a Secretary.          

A senior most official told The Hans India that as per the service rules, the government should appoint IAS officers in the posts which are equal to the rank they hold at the time of reshuffle. At present, the IAS officers are given Secretary, Principal Secretary and Special Chief Secretary ranks based on their seniority. It is mandatory that the officials should not be appointed to the posts below or above their ranks.

The official said the CAT (Central Administrative Tribunal) has already warned the state government in the case of Special Chief Secretary Mohd Shafique Uz Zaman who challenged the then AP government for appointing him to a post below his rank. The Tribunal came in support of the official and helped him to get his rank post.

Sources said that many senior IAS officials were unhappy with the posts they were allotted and are contemplating to knock the doors of CAT for justice. In some cases, junior IAS officials got big posts in the reshuffle. The Joint Secretary rank officials, K Ilambarthi, K Siva Kumar Naidu and Jyothi Budda Prakarsh, got the posts above the ranks they possessed.