Such has been the magnitude of allegations that the Tamil officer, is now being termed as the second power centre within the ruling BJD, a label which was given to late Pyarimohan Mohapatra. Former legislator Ramaranjan Baliarsingh, who recently quit BJD, targeting the bureaucrat again said that even though Naveen is the party president, Pandian is the working president and his excessive interference in violation of the service conduct rules will cost BJD dear.
Congress leader and opposition party chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati alleged that from politics to administration, Pandian’s interference is all pervasive.
From ticket distribution to collection of donation, Pandian is managing all the political affairs, felt BJP leader Pitambar Acharya.
Also Read: Corrupt non-Odia officer trying to mar project inauguration: BJD MP Jay Panda’s office
“Pandian is an IAS officer and the private secretary of CM Naveen Patnaik. Will he decide the future of politicians? CM is the party president while Pandian is the working president of the party,” said Baliarsingh.
“Pandian is micro-managing BJD affairs,” said Bahinipati.
“Whenever anyone approaches CM Naveen, he redirects them saying, ask Pandian. This is the kind of governance which is prevalent in Odisha. It is not his duty to decide distribution of party tickets and collection of funds,” said Acharya.
A 2000-batch IAS officer, Pandian has been collector of various districts including Ganjam. He has been the private secretary of CM since May 2, 2011. Sources said that, Pandian’s role came to fore after late Pyarimohan Mohapatra’s failed ‘midnight coup’ attempt. Even in the 2014 general elections, Pandian reportedly played a key role in decisions pertaining to ticket distribution.
“People who are desperate make such allegations. Accusing a government officer is a sign of immaturity,” said ruling-BJD spokesperson, Rabi Narayan Nanda.
Pandian declined to comment on the matter.
https://youtu.be/QfC9HqEyR84
Bhubaneswar: Reacting to statements of BJD’s Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda on interference of bureaucracy in politics, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday termed such allegations as baseless.
Replying to media queries, Patnaik said, “When they have no other issues, they attack my office. This is nothing new,” said Patnaik.
On asked whether any explanation would be sought from Panda, Patnaik said, “What is appropriate will be done and I am busy in developmental work of my State and people are well aware of what is going on.”
Patnaik’s statements came a day after the MP expressed resentment over the meddling of a non-Odia officer at Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in party affairs, after inauguration of an overhead water tank project at Buhalo village in Cuttack district yesterday.
Meanwhile, the MP reacted on statements of the Chief Minister and tweeted,
I'm v.disheartened. Did Biju Babu also have"no other issues" when he demanded action agnst corrupt babus? If no issue, why 5 police platoons in Mahanga? Was it I who created disturbance in Mahanga? Was i not just doing my job peacefully? I still plead for my leader to examine?? https://t.co/GkJuZ3DKuV
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) January 12, 2018
Also Read: Huge overhead water tank dedicated to public through little hands
Panda’s remarks came after threats were issued ahead of his scheduled tour of his constituency for inauguration of the drinking water project on Thursday as it was for the second time that the MP was being prevented from carrying out developmental activities in the area.
Earlier, the Parliamentarian had to face egg and stone attacks at him in his own constituency last year.
Panda then had shrugged off the attack, saying that he was not afraid to face even bullets and will continue to work for the public.
Also Read: Jay Panda’s project inauguration: Dust settles, storm ensues
“There is no need to respect officers who forget their service code, start doing politics and interfere in party affairs and support those who indulge in anti-people activities. Even former CM Biju Patnaik had told people how to treat such officers,” the MP said after the inauguration of the drinking water project.
https://youtu.be/69btpOz3YKg
Protesting arbitrary action, the clerks under the aegis of the Rajaswa Amala Sangh, have been on a cease-work stir since last five days. The Association has threatened state-wide agitation if the administration fails to lift suspension order with immediate effect.
Notably, after confusions pertaining to granting landing approval to Dharmendra Pradhan’s helicopter during poll campaigning in Borigumma, a clerk working in the district collectors office was placed under suspension. Besides, one ADM and an assistant collector were relieved of their duties following the incident.
Protesting the clerk’s suspension, the Revenue Employees Association has been on a cease work strike since February 23. In the meanwhile, the district administration had also suspended 10 employees and transferred the president and secretary of the Association on the pretext of dereliction of duty.
“I don’t know on what basis action was taken against me. I am a dealing assistant and my job is to put up files and follow the orders of our officers,” said Krushna Chandra Pradhan who was suspended after the controversy cropped up.
“All the highly-placed officials didn’t discharge their duties properly, however, the clerks have been made the scapegoats. In a bid to cover up the faults of the higher officials, the clerks are being victimised. If they don’t withdraw the suspension orders immediately, we will launch a state-wide stir,” said president of the Rajaswa Amala Sangh, Tirupati Balaji Sahu.
Also Read: Harassment of party workers: BJP warns of action against bureaucrats
The opposition political parties have strongly condemned the action of the district administration. While the State BJP which has raised its fingers at the bureaucrats, senior Congress leader and Opposition chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati has also termed the incident as grossly unfortunate.
“The district collector has been acting like Hitler. He is carrying out the decisions being taken from the secretariat. The manner in which the state government has politicised this incident is utterly condemnable,” said BJP leader Bhrigu Bauxipatra.
“This is a very unfortunate incident. I urge the state government to intervene in the matter. Besides, the district administration should convene a meeting with the revenue employees and find a solution immediately,” said Bahinipati.
Responding to the allegations, the spokesperson of the ruling BJD, Rabi Narayan Nanda, said “Such unrest is definitely unfortunate. I would request the parties to resolve any disputes at the earliest possible,” he added.
However, in a sudden turn of events later during the day, the Koraput collector reportedly withdrew suspension orders of all the 11 clerks but transferred them to various other block offices.
The saffron party demanded that the SEC should control the role of bureaucracy in elections by exercising its constitutional powers.
Also Read: Panchayat polls: BJD claims 96 ZP seats, BJP 64 in first phase
“We have requested the Commission to use its constitutional powers and exercise control over the government officials who are involved in election management and direct them to act accordingly to ensure free, fair and impartial elections in the State,” said Odisha BJP vice president, Sameer Mohanty.
The observation came from Justice S.P. Kesharwani while hearing the case of one Dulari Devi, who has been fighting her case for the last 19 years.
Rapping the bureaucracy for delay in implementation of the Uttar Pradesh Public Interest Guarantee Act 2011, the court said the laws for curbing graft were deliberately made complicated so that accountability of the corrupt officials could not be fixed.
Justice Keshwarwani observed that in case one wanted to procure an income certificate, as per rule it should be done in two days, and if it was not disposed of within two days, the application would automatically stand cancelled.
There is a provision of first appeal against non-issuance of the certificate, and if not satisfied, the petitioner could make a second appeal, after which a penalty could be slapped on the callous official.
To implement this, the high court said appellate authorities should be constituted in all government departments, but this had not happened even after six years. And to add to this, rules were being framed to make the legal battle of the petitioner more complicated, the court observed.
So finally, the petitioner decides to pay the "suvidha shulk" (bribe), the court said.
The judge also noted that the RTI had become hugely successful as the rules there were clear cut.
The state government counsel sought time from the high court to get back on the matter. The hearing would continue on Friday.
"Do not ashame me by referring that I am most able minister in the state. I am, in fact, the most inefficient and helpless minister in the government," Rout said in the assembly while replying an adjournment debate on closure of sugar mills causing frustration among farmers.
Rout having 40-years experience in politics, said he had brought laurels for the state as Pancahayati Raj, Agriculture and other ministers.
"But, I have "failed" in the Cooperation department," Rout said.
Rout, who hold the Cooperation portfolio said: "I am pained that most of the members of this House refer me as the most efficient. But, in reality, I am not because of the hurdles being put on my way."
Though the entire House including leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra of Congress, was surprised over Rout's statement, he went on speaking that it was very difficult to run a "democratic government under bureaucratic influence."
The minister said he did not get adequate support from the bureaucracy to take up welfare programmes, be it revival of defunct sugar mills or cold storages which could help farmers to a great extent.
"Had we sufficient cold storages, our farmers will not go for distress sale of vegetables besides potatoes and tomatoes," Rout said adding that he now tries to set up cold storages with help of RMC (regulated market committee).
The minister also said that though he has a lot of ideas to help the farmers and make Cooperation department viable, he could not do it because of the lack of "attitude and cooperation" from the bureaucracy.
Rout also admitted in the House that the farmers are under duress for closure of sugar mills and cold storages.
Also Read: Din continues in Odisha Assembly over farmer suicides
Earlier, Leader of Opposition Naraisngha Mishra of Congress had alleged that the state government failed to help the sugarcane farmers across the state. He said the farmers do not get their dues from the sugar mills run by the cooperative societies.
Rout said there are five sugar mills in the state of which only two were in operation. Remaining three sugar mills have been closed due to several factors and his efforts to revive such units has faced hurdles from the bureaucracy.
The minister, however, assured the House that he would again try to make such defunct sugar mills operational.
Cabinet ministers genuflect before him. Politicians dread him. Those in the ruling party vie with each other to be in his good books. Large sections of the media eat out of his hands. Top bureaucrats way senior to him rarely take any decision without first getting it cleared from him. He takes a call on just about anything and everything – from a politically sensitive police case to an important policy decision. As for his boss, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s dependence on him is total. In short, not a proverbial ‘leaf’ moves in the state without his permission.
After the debacle of sorts the ruling party suffered in the zila parishad elections in February last year, many people had thought his wings would be clipped. Nothing of the sort happened. If anything, his ‘wings’ appear to be flapping even more vigorously than they did earlier.
In terms of the clout he enjoys, many people compare him to the late Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, who too was believed to be running the state as well as the party though his official position was nothing more important than that of a member of the Rajya Sabha – and that too after years of remaining in the shadows. But this columnist is of the view that even at the height of his powers, Pyari Babu never quite enjoyed the kind of power and clout that our all-powerful man in the Third Floor does now.
It goes without saying that this state of affairs does not augur well either for good governance or democracy at large. Extra-constitutional centres of power are always antithetical to the spirit of democracy; more so when they are bureaucrats. Pyari Babu at least had retired as a bureaucrat when he was handling the party on Naveen’s behalf. But a serving officer taking decisions on affairs of the ruling party is by no means a welcome proposition. Besides constituting a serious violation of the service code, it undermines the political leadership too.
But then who cares for constitutional niceties when the arrangement in place is doing just fine? In his 17+ years as the Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik has left no one in doubt that he just doesn’t have the appetite for getting into the nitty-gritty of running either the party or the government. He would rather entrust the job to someone – whether in the party or the government – while he charms his way into the people’s hearts with his smiling visage to laugh all the way to the vote bank. For years after he became Chief Minister, it was Pyari Babu who did the job – and quite efficiently at that. Then, after he fell from grace following the Coup That Wasn’t in March, 2012, Kalpataru Das emerged from nowhere to step into his shoes and continued in that position till his demise in July, 2015. But it has to be said that the five-time MLA from Dharmasala never really enjoyed the kind of clout Pyari Babu once did or the shadowy man on the Third Floor has done since his demise.
Also Read:Ragging Is A Crime; And So is Rationalising It As ‘Cool’
It is remarkable that while the officer is every opposition politician’s favourite punching bag, his boss gets away with blue murder. It is inconceivable that an officer would dare do something that is not expressly sanctioned by his boss. But the barbs are almost always aimed at the officer rather than his boss. It is an arrangement that obviously suits both. While the officer is happy to take all the flak even while enjoying all powers, the boss escapes blame for anything while doing nothing. May be that’s the reason the arrangement has worked so well.
Here is hoping that the veil of secrecy that has allowed this arrangement to continue so long will be lifted and the conspiracy of silence broken some day by those who know the inside story but are too terrified to talk about it at the moment - except in hush-hush private conversations. But there is little doubt that Naveen Patnaik would leave behind an unhealthy legacy when he finally walks into the sunset.
Following the reshuffle in IAS and OAS levels, 32 officers were transferred and given assignments.
District collector of Cuttack, Aravind Agrawal, has been posted as Director of Social Welfare, W & CD and Mission Shakti Departments.
Similarly, Jagatsinghpur district collector Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar has got the post of Joint Secretary to Government, Health and Family Welfare Department.
Labour Commissioner and ESI Director Anjan Kumar Manik has been appointed as Excise Commissioner, Cuttack.
Dasarathi Satpathy has been posted as Odisha Legislative Assembly Secretary while Nirmal Chandra Mishra has been appointed as Director, Tourism Department with additional charge of MD, OTDC.
Additional Secretary to Chief Minister, Niranjan Sahu has been posted as Director, Higher Education with additional charge of Labour Commissioner, Odisha. Board of Revenue Secretary Prasanta Kumar Senapati has been appointed as Inspector General of Registration, Cuttack.
Director of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Susanta Mohapatra has been appointed as Additional Secretary to Health & Family Welfare Department.
Director of Municipal Administration, Sangramjit Nayak, will remain in additional charge of Administrator of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Collector and District Magistrate of Nayagarh, Noonsavath Thirumala Naik has been given the charge of Director of Fisheries department. The Collector & District Magistrate of Koraput, Poma Tudu, will be the new Collector and District Magistrate of Nayagarh.
Among others, Shinde Dattatraya Bhausaheb, Sub-collector of Baliguda has been appointed as Sub-collector of Berhampur. Replacing Tudu, Madhusudan Mishra, Managing Director of MARKFED will take charge as the Collector of Koraput.
We are not born to live a life of isolation, withdrawal, keeping to ourselves and suspicious of others. We are not destined to be creatures of darkness. We are born to be in light, to radiate, to activate and refine our latent ability to flourish and benefit others. Such a mindset propels us to be on a continuous learning mode. There is no room for comparing us with others. It’s an open-ended journey toward excellence.
Learning the power of gratitude is an extremely enriching experience. It makes us humble; it improves our ability for healing that transcends our suffering and move us towards wholeness.
These qualities are embellishments that make us more humane, more productive and add purpose to our life. These are equally essential for public servants as well. With these qualities, they become more effective and highly motivated. They are more successful because they see the core purpose of the job at hand. The following example illustrates the pitfall of a mechanical attitude of a civil servant. It’s about a building housing a grassroots level public office.
The office building of the Bhubaneswar urban ICDS project located in the area I live finally got a functional compound wall with a good-looking gate, some days ago. Why it makes an event for me one would ask. Here is why it does.
I had worked as Director, Community Development & Panchayati Raj years ago, in the Seventies, when Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Programme was in infancy with only a few block-level projects on ground and a few in the pipeline. Urban ICDS project came much later. ICDS was a flagship programme of state intervention in the area of children and expectant and lactating mothers, their nutritional requirements and education of pre-school children. I had liked the programme immensely and that feeling survived decades of being away from it.
The Bhubaneswar office building may have come up at least some decades ago. It stood forlorn, without a compound wall. The office does have a storage godown where feeding materials are stocked. The public office is mostly visited by ladies connected with the programme. The office was on my morning walk route and every morning I was sensitive to its vulnerability and helpless existence. Things took a turn for the better when government buildings came up on three sides of this building. Walls on three sides were built by departments that owned the buildings. This was some years ago. Finally, the gap in front was built, perhaps, a month ago and a good gate adorned it a fortnight later.
This development for me was no less important than the completion of an important city flyover. Why the crucial infrastructure was missing for decades points to the need for greater sensitivity in our bureaucracy.
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. The author can be reached at lonewalker.1942@gmail.com)