A bureaucratic coup of different sort!

The magic of M Venkaiah Naidu, in his new role as the country’s Vice-President, seems to have enamoured a section of officialdom that was quite unthinkable to even the most optimistic lot in bureaucracy. And mind you, that was not meant for a picture-perfect shot frozen for posterity!

It is common knowledge that IAS and IPS officers have been at perennial loggerheads and for apparent administrative hegemony reasons. An ego-ridden superiority complex is almost like a the order of the day.

However, much to the surprise of the august gathering, and undoubtedly a welcome change-of-heart, officers from two crucial departments set aside their individual pride during the civic reception accorded to Naidu by the Telangana State government recently.

Senior bureaucrats from the State administration and the police department were seen exchanging pleasantries and glowed in absolute delight in doing so. In what could possibly be the first-of-its-kind diplomatic move, all senior IAS and IPS officers sat together till the end of the 80-minute felicitation programme.

City Police Commissioner Mahender Reddy, Home Secretary Rajiv Trivedi and other senior IPS officers posted in Hyderabad greeted the IAS officials present there. The new-found bonhomie was there for everyone to see and appreciate.

State Special Chief Secretary (Irrigation) SK Joshi, Special Chief Secretary (Energy) Ajay Mishra, Finance Secretary Ramakrishna Rao, Housing Secretary Chitra Ramachandran and Principal Secretary (Commercial Taxes) Somesh Kumar wished the IPS officials during their brief, but memorable, interactions with one another. It was ditto with retired Telangana Chief Secretary Pradeep Chandra.

The friendly gestures did not miss the eye of those present. Several Ministers, MPs and MLAs said it was very rare to see IAS and IPS officials looking friendly and warming up to each other. Everyone felt that this should mark the beginning of a more solid functional foundation.

Buddies bond together

Like they say, ‘old habits die hard’, even the bondage between former colleagues will stay on. This is proven in the case of former Irrigation officials working in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Today, they are laughing it away at their respective political bosses. Having worked together in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, they now are posted in different ‘States’ and have to follow the diktat of separate heads of government. What is making them enjoy the comedy of errors is over the politically-influenced ‘poles apart’ stance taken by the two governments over sharing of water and irrigation projects.

Suddenly, they find themselves on the same page, in the wake of the fast-depleting levels in reservoirs, and no inflows insight from the upper riparian states of Karnataka and Maharashtra. Though they swear by their respective government’s stand, the babus in private opine that a united fight would yield better results and help protect their common interests. Their version does merit a serious thought.

A welcome facilitation

Telangana Chief Secretary SP Singh has come to the rescue of all busy IAS officials working in the districts. The bureaucrats were provided an online facility for official communication, an arrangement that did not require them to come all the way to Hyderabad to meet him personally for any official duties.

In tune with his initiative, the government launched a special website in which the IAS officials posted anywhere in the State can upload their leave forms and encashment applications. The Chief Secretary’s nod, or otherwise, is posted online pronto. Needless to say, this has brought in an overwhelming ‘positive’ response from the officials as it would ease their burden to huge levels.

It makes sense and sets a welcome benchmark. Normally, the otherwise busy head of the State administration was dedicating at least one hour to attend to personal issues raised by his departmental colleagues and subordinates.

The new system has not only helped the officials to get rid of pending grievances instantly but also saved their time. As the Telangana government has introduced several schemes, the district officials have more time to address them on a priority basis. Officials of every hue heaped praises on the Chief Secretary over the win-win facility.