State rewards efficient staffers with transfers

MUMBAI: It seems that the political establishment in Maharashtra does not want upright bureaucrats who go by the rulebook to hold key positions.

The sudden transfer of Sanjay Bhatia, MD of state power distribution company, Mahavitran, lends credence to this perception.

Mr Bhatia, a no-nonsense bureaucrat and one of the few upright IAS officers in the state bureaucracy, was summarily transferred on Thursday to an insignificant posting with the Yashwantrao Chavan Institute of Developmental Administration (Yashada). Mr Bhatia’s transfer is being attributed to his defence of Discom officials who cut-off power supply to the chief minister’s official residence at Nagpur two months back due to pending arrears.

A probe carried out by the general administration department has held Mr Bhatia and energy secretary Bhagwan Sahay responsible for not restraining the Discom officials from severing the power supply.

Incidentally, Mr Sahay was also transferred on Thursday as chairperson of Nagpur Improvement Trust.

For both Mr Bhatia and Mr Sahay, the new assignments are quite insignificant, sources said. The posting to Yashada as associate professor is certainly unfair to Mr Bhatia’s reputation of a no-nonsense bureaucrat who has delivered as Maha Discom MD.

It was during Mr Bhatia’s tenure that the Discom’s revenue crossed the crucial Rs 1,000-crore mark.

“This (the transfer) will clearly have a very demoralising effect on the few upright bureaucrats still serving the government. Far from rewarding Maha Discom officials, including Mr Bhatia, for upholding the law, the government has punished them,” a senior bureaucrat said.

He pointed out that the incumbent government has always been particularly harsh to efficient bureau
crats in the power sector. Even now, co-operative department secretary Jayant Kawle, who was earlier MD of MSEB Holding Company, has been transferred as energy secretary.

Ironically, Mr Kawle has sought the state’s consent to proceed on three-year leave during which he intends to work in a senior position for a leading infrastructure company.

“Mr Kawle’s application is pending with the government. If he gets the nod, the state would have to appoint a new person as energy secretary. With the power sector being so important in today’s context, the government can ill-afford to indulge in frequent transfers,” one official said. Mr Bhatia would be succeeded by Ajay Bhushan Pandey, another efficient official, as Maha Discom MD. “The government should now allow Mr Pandey to work,” an official remarked.