Transfers in Rajasthan is likely to be ‘scientific' this time. The Bhajan Lal Sharma government and chief secretary Sudhansh Pant have established that bureaucracy has little to do with politics. Rarely happens when IAS officers sitting at plum postings continue to serve even after the change of government.
“But the chief secretary Sudhansh Pant seems to be applying logic behind reshuffling his team. He has not issued transfer order just to disturb the applecart. So far he has been rational in shifting officers. The upcoming transfer list is likely to be based on present performance and would be aligned with past record and domain expertise including academic background,” said a former bureaucrat.
The chief secretary has been observing and monitoring the working of bureaucracy for almost eight months. He has a fair idea of capabilities and right fitment of IAS officers. He tested them by enforcing punctuality and demonstrated them the sense of urgency by bringing down time in file disposal. Former chief secretary Usha Sharma pushed online filing system which Pant further enforced. This has resulted into more transparency and swiftness in the system.
“The government is trying to make transfers of officers more scientific based on their present performance and past record. Their affinity with previous government or any kind of alignment is not being considered. Rather their domain expertise with academics are considering points for future assignments,” said a senior bureaucrat.
No political consideration in appointing SA of ministers
The Bhajan Lal government, like Modi government at centre, didn't consider the choice of ministers while appointing their personal staff including special assistants (SA). This is for the first time SAs have been appointed without desire of respective ministers.
“It's a double edged sword. Definitely it has reduced the chance of ‘connivance' if any between minister and SA but then it can affect the efficiency as non related ministers and SAs may not be comfortable working with each other. But this is a good practice for ensuring transparency,” said another officer.
Prakash Bhandari is a veteran journalist with over 50 years of experience. He has worked with The Times of India for 30 years and contributed to leading publications as well as international news agency AFP.
