Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar may have defended his move to relieve and not suspend Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Vimal Anand Gupta who was embroiled in bribery allegations, but the role of officers from the All India Cadre and their benefit to the State has to be debated and reassessed. Taking on IPS and IAS officers is by no means an easy task. CM's assertion that he was not suspended because he was due for transfer in not reasonable. A footnote to this predicament is that these officers are well-connected at the Centre.
There are, however, a few questions that need to be brought under focus: firstly, how does Goa benefit from these IPS or IAS officers, and secondly why are these officers given prolonged service extensions, some spanning more than double their stipulated term?
The biggest drawback of recruiting central cadre is that requirements of the state are not factored resulting in the State hardly benefiting in terms of administrative services. A sharp case in point was the recent tidal swells that triggered a wave of destruction along the coast. Both collectors - North Goa, Nila Mohanan and South, Anjali Sehrawat may have done their jobs of assessing the damage caused, but for the South Goa Collector to recommend it as a State disaster is far-fetched and only exposes her understanding of the State's topography. Tides are a common feature at this time of the year as the moon is at its closest point to the earth. This time around, unfortunately, the Ockhi factor may have made it worse. In the mining case, former principal secretary, mining, Rajiv Yaduvanshi, who had stayed put in Goa for almost eight long years has turned State approver. The question that needs to be asked is what was he doing in his capacity as an administrative officer if irregularities were happening right under his nose during the Digambar Kamat rule? While the significance of these central postings is being discussed, the prolonged service extensions are questionable, unless the State administration finds them indispensable.
The proposal for separate cadre for Goa dates back to 2011 during the Congress regime, where Parrikar was the Leader of the Opposition. A few years later in 2014 a proposal was moved again during Parrikar's tenure, but has been under consideration of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs since then. The state cabinet subsequently has even decided to opt out of the AGMUT cadre (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories). The Chief Minister's assurance that he will draw upon what he learnt during his stint as a defence minister to put in place a separate disaster management mechanism for Goa is welcome. In the same vein, it would do a world of good for the State if he pulls the right strings in Delhi to get an independent administrative cadre for Goa.
There are, however, a few questions that need to be brought under focus: firstly, how does Goa benefit from these IPS or IAS officers, and secondly why are these officers given prolonged service extensions, some spanning more than double their stipulated term?
The biggest drawback of recruiting central cadre is that requirements of the state are not factored resulting in the State hardly benefiting in terms of administrative services. A sharp case in point was the recent tidal swells that triggered a wave of destruction along the coast. Both collectors - North Goa, Nila Mohanan and South, Anjali Sehrawat may have done their jobs of assessing the damage caused, but for the South Goa Collector to recommend it as a State disaster is far-fetched and only exposes her understanding of the State's topography. Tides are a common feature at this time of the year as the moon is at its closest point to the earth. This time around, unfortunately, the Ockhi factor may have made it worse. In the mining case, former principal secretary, mining, Rajiv Yaduvanshi, who had stayed put in Goa for almost eight long years has turned State approver. The question that needs to be asked is what was he doing in his capacity as an administrative officer if irregularities were happening right under his nose during the Digambar Kamat rule? While the significance of these central postings is being discussed, the prolonged service extensions are questionable, unless the State administration finds them indispensable.
The proposal for separate cadre for Goa dates back to 2011 during the Congress regime, where Parrikar was the Leader of the Opposition. A few years later in 2014 a proposal was moved again during Parrikar's tenure, but has been under consideration of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs since then. The state cabinet subsequently has even decided to opt out of the AGMUT cadre (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories). The Chief Minister's assurance that he will draw upon what he learnt during his stint as a defence minister to put in place a separate disaster management mechanism for Goa is welcome. In the same vein, it would do a world of good for the State if he pulls the right strings in Delhi to get an independent administrative cadre for Goa.
