PAUPER’S LOG: Unalienable Babus

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 36 | ISSUE 01 | 01 OCT 2012

PAUPER’S LOG:

Unalienable Babus

 By Abu Arsh

One of the major issues for a Govt. employee in these Islands is posting from one place of duty to another. The Administration has in place a Transfer policy according to which no official should be allowed to remain in one office for more than 5 years in general and 3 years in case of public dealing and sensitive departments. Its transfer policy also states maintaining an incumbency register which is to be updated every year provided to the Administrative Secretary, Personnel Wing of A & N Administration.

Meet any politician and the major task on their hands is stalling someone's transfer. The poor employee would vouch for anything from providing a monthly cut from their legal/illegal earnings to making sure that the political patron wrests the next Lok sabha seat or the local bodies' seat as the case maybe. Staying closer to home, shopping groceries or other provisions with wife, taking care of Kids education, proper medical attention and even sticking to a chair which yields considerable power, influence or rakes in the moolah is every Govt. employees dream.

Not many are that fortunate to enjoy the above stated privileges and pay dearly at the cost of those who stick to a chair come what may. There are departments specially where there is public dealing that most of these sticklers manage to cling on to their chairs. This is in gross violation of the Administration's transfer policy. Bureaucrats from Delhi come here for short tenures and more often than not end up in some controversy or the other. The controversy could range from faulty interpretation of a Central policy, drafting a draconian law, gross mismanagement of the system to outright corruption. Behind every goof up of the bosses would be a bunch of these very non transferable characters who always believe that the Boss is always right. As the baton is exchanged by the bosses a word is put up by the incumbent about who the trustworthy, resourceful and intelligent bunch of subordinate is. Thus these guys end up being glued to permanent seats of power by his lordship's grace too.

Our non transferable characters are more often than not sons of soil apt at everything right from referring boss to the specialist doctors, organizing parties, guiding on loopholes in the system, liasioning with local political bosses, aiding or abetting  in the pursuit of vices and minting money.  The departments where these non transferable hang about is primarily the Secretariat, District Administrations, heads of the Department offices and other Zonal offices. People in the rank of Personal Assistants, Lower Grade Clerks and even other ranks of technical /non technical officials in local departments are primarily these characters.

These nontransferable characters are shown the door only when they end up crossing all limits. Recent classic example being of one such character who ended up booking flight tickets from the Administration's Quota as per his whims and fancies at the Raj Niwas Secretariat. The District Administration also has a bunch of them who don't require brain mapping as demanded by the Member of Parliament for their bosses but simply needs to be moved out as per the Transfer Policy of the UT Administration.