Whispers Forum

DEBATE (10)
Any politician calling senior bureaucrats as “Babus” is only to hide his own ignorance about governance.
Deepa Agrawal.
Not professional qualification alone, Experience also matters
Many times comments are made about the educational backgrounds of officers and it is stated that professionals with degrees in some special disciplines should man government positions in government departments instead of government officers with BA and MA. Now, wherever the government requires professional qualifications, it recruits officers with such professional qualifications, viz. Engineers, Scientists, Agriculture Department officers, Veterinary Department officers, Doctors, Professors, Pilots and so on. The government does not recruit BA and MA for scientific positions in DRDO, for example. For posts where education is required without any special professional qualification, it recruits officers with any educational degree, on the basis of competitive examinations which test the recruit thoroughly on all qualities which are required, e.g. in IAS, IPS, IRS, etc. Notably, professionals are not excluded from such a job profile, many doctors, for example, join the IAS, IPS and IRS. Not only that, recruitment is made from lakhs of aspirants and only a chosen few hundreds make it every year. Further, the recruits with a BA or MA in a couple of years in their formative years have decades long administrative experience in the services and departments they man. Someone may have read Physics for three years in a degree course, but may have spent thirty years in Finance Departments in states or Centre. Should his BSc in Physics prevent him from heading the Finance Department when he may have decades of experience in Finance and government? So, such uninformed comments merely indicate muddled thinking and nothing else.
Vijay Kumar
Acknowledging complaint on the social media platforms
The case brings up interesting questions with no answers from the CIC. The CIC has not given any specific observations on the merits of the case i.e. whether the complaint on the social media platforms should be considered and taken note of by the public organisations. If yes, it would open up Pandora's box. Which platforms to consider? who would monitor the complaints? At what frequency? How to even verify the authenticity of the complainant? The CIC, like many other organisations, has preferred to keep mum on this basic question, Will anyone look into this matter before it acquires giagantic proportions?
Sainath P

DEBATE(1)
People in All India Services come through a very tough competition and they are behind all Government policies and how to execute them. It is totally wrong to call them “Babu” by politicians at the high places.
S C SAgrawal, DGP (Retd)
All Kudos to Modi government
Kudos to the Modi government for making the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) faceless. It is only the Modi government which could have taken this much needed step. The reforms initiated by the Modi government will go a long way to ensure that justice is done, impartially.
Vijay Kumar

The appellant submitted that in respect of his RTI application dated 24.10.2018, no information has been provided to him. The respondent submitted that vide their letter dated 26.08.2020, complete information was given to the appellant on his RTI application. The respondent further tendered his unconditional apology with respect to delay in giving reply to the appellant. The appellant stated that he has not received reply dated 26.08.2020 from the respondent and requested that the information should be sent on his e-mail ID to which the respondent agreed to. The CIC observed that there was a delay in giving complete information to the appellant on his RTI application. The CIC issued a strict warning to the respondent PIO to be careful in future and ensure that reply should be provided to the applicants within stipulated period of time as per the provisions of the RTI Act. This warning of the CIC should be brought into the notice of the Controlling Authority of the then PIO. The General Manager, Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited, Dhanbad should look into the working of the RTI Cell, Sindhri and take appropriate steps in improving the same. The respondent was directed to again send a copy of their reply dated 26.08.2020 to the appellant through registered post and as well as on his e-mail ID as mentioned in the RTI application. The show-cause notice for imposing penalty was dropped.
Comments
As per section 20, a penalty of Rs 250/- has to be imposed on the PIO for each day of delay and the burden of proving that he acted reasonably and diligently shall be on the PIO. In this case, the PIO has not come up with any reasonable cause for delay in providing the information. However, the CIC has preferred to let him go without any justification which does not appear to be legally proper.
Citation: Shakti Chaurasiya v. Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited, Dhanbad in Second Appeal No. CIC/DFERT/A/2018/171012, Date of Decision: 25-01-2021
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com

Debate 1
Has the IAS lost its credibility?
Yes IAS as leader of civils service has lost credibility because the fairness, competence and neutrality expected from it is a thing of past. It has become a trade union they hunt in packs.. In fact the entire gamut of civil service needs a thorough revamp including others services also why to only single out IAS. Forest, Revenue, Railway and Foreign also need revamping as each one has some or the other faultline.People talk about Babudom, what about Netadom or Netacracy which is more damaging to fair governance. We need a referendum on our governance pattern and big ticket reforms.
Dr. VK Bahuguna
Great news
Great news that a professional has become the Chief Stadtician of India. Good sign that professionals snd not generalists are being recognised and appointed to key posts requiring expertise.
K Srinivasa Rao
It would be more meaningful
For all officers empanelled as Principal Commissioner of IT, U may further add that the "Principal Commissioner grade in HAG payband. That would be more meaningful.
Sandeep Mishra

DEBATE(2)
Has any IAS Babu, if they are so intelligent, been able to become CEO of any MNC. They are high headed with colonial thought.
R Gupta
IAS officer Alok Kumar in the race for CMD, BEML
Only a distinguished technocrat should be chief of BEML and no one else should be appointed.. I know very well because after my engineering degree I joined the company a few years after its inception. Very long back and I have occupied very responsible posts in the organisation. I have served the company for 38 years If a non technocrat is selected it will be the greatest disservice to the distinguished technocrats in our country. Hope the selection authority has the wisdom to make the right selection
Anti incumbency will lead BJP to take over WB
Among many factors anti incumbency will be the prime game changer for West Bengal elections making Modi’s BJP to take charge with majority for a successful full term. Change is the order of the day & local voters are looking for a global leader like our PM, as a very important state since independence WB should be in the center of affairs & only existing central leaders can make it possible. Success stories of other BJP ruled states will also be a major contributor heard & seen by Bengal voters looking for a big change. Patience, Respect & discipline are the lessons to be learnt for other major political parties.
Vivek Dhawan

DEBATE (1) BABU
The word Babu was earlier widely used as a term of respect ! It meant a literate person of good standing ! In Bihar and Bengal it was also used as an honorific in place of Mr. and Sir. Even now among the Marwari business conglomerates, the word Babu denotes the highest ranking person in the hierarchical structure of the Company, usually the Chairman ! However, the word Babu started being used pejoratively to describe English educated bureaucracy as class distinctions started disappearing between the ruling class of civil servants and the people at large, when after independence elected politicians gradually found their own place in the new governance system and started wielding greater power, and the bureaucracy got gradually reduced to being merely a tool in their hands. This usage reflected people’s as well as political class’s frustration with a slow moving, rule bound, cumbersome and self serving bureaucracy with less and less or virtually no accountability to deliver effective governance . The English movies ‘Yes Minister’ and ‘Yes Prime Minister’ , while being tremendously humorous further reinforced this image of an incompetent and blundering bureaucracy whose only objective was self preservation . It further enhanced this disdain towards bureaucracy in popular thinking. Today a situation has come where bureaucracy is being seen not as a steel frame of fair and good governance but as a hindrance to country’s stride towards development ! That’s why now there is a constant talk about creating an alternative structure of governance , composed of specialists recruited for short periods to cater to specialised sectors of government, and gradually replacing the entrenched bureaucracy constitued of generalists who are seen as slothful, status quo oriented, with risk aversion attitude, who tend to crush or whittle down any of the so called daringly innovative ideas that political parties or their ideological masters come up with. The current bureaucracy is also to blame for a large part of this situation , because it has bent backwards to accommodate the politicians, allowed themselves to be shuffled around like a pack of cards, and instead of giving bold and objective advice, have surrendered to the will of political masters to curry favour to get good postings . The result is an administrative mess, and therefore the politicians find the situation ripe to bring in their favourite persons as lateral appointees and gradually reduce the permanent bureaucracy to a redundancy . The pejorative use of the word ‘Babu’ by the press, politicians, and public at large, and even the Hon’ble PM in the Parliament is nothing but a living reflection of the deterioration and rot that has set into the bureaucracy, and unless the bureaucracy reinvents itself, it is a downhill slide which will eventually result in the replacement of current structure with a politically appointed bureaucracy which will change with every change of government, and work as a tool for the political masters, instead of providing a fair, objective, strong and long visioned administration which was envisaged by the founders of our democracy !
B Ghosh
“Another thoughtless Blunder ”
After PM’s ‘ Babu ’ jibe against civil servants , it is now the turn of Giriraj Singh, a minister in Modi sarkar, to sermonise : "Beat up govt officials with bamboo sticks if they don’t listen". Crass poverty of human decency in Modi cabinet.
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

The appellant sought to know whether action has been taken for the complaint which has been lodged on Google Reviews by Mohit Sharma for G.B. Pant Hospital. He also sought to know whether the complaint lodged on public platform on Google reviews would be considered and the reason if it is not considered so. The CIC observed that the reply provided the PIO was vague and was prepared without application of mind. The CIC expressed displeasure on such a conduct of the PIO and warned him to remain extremely careful in future so that such lapses do not recur. The CIC observed that appropriate reply has not been provided to the Appellant and directed the PIO to provide a revised reply to the Appellant, free of cost, within 15 days of receipt of the order and send a compliance report of the same to the CIC.
Comments
The PIO should provide a specific reply to the appellant. This case throws up the interesting question whether complaints lodged on public platforms such as Google reviews would be considered and whether action should be initiated.
Citation: Mohit Sharma v. Office of the Medical Superintendent, G.B. Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research-(GIPMER) in Second Appeal No.: CIC/GBPIT/A/2018/162506, Date of Decision: 29-01-2021
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com