Every govt dept is vital

Few IAS officers in Telangana recently complained to the Chief Secretary that they are posted in “unimportant and insignificant” departments, whereas others, though not senior to them, are given significant and pivotal posts. In the process, they pleaded for justice to them.

This sort of a complaint probably may not be justified!

Transfers of IAS officers are made for administrative reasons and better convenience of governance. If those who could not get postings of their choice express dissatisfaction openly or clandestinely, then is it possible to run the government? Pointing out their seniority and better competency, they also, unfortunately, complain the government is biased against them. In reality, all of them ought to discharge their responsibilities without prejudice and bias, irrespective of which department they are working in and irrespective of whether it is important or insignificant.

In 1995 September when I was posted on deputation to the Dr MCR HRD Institute located in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, I had to face a lot of difficulty to reach office, the reason being its insignificant status and as a result its address is not known to many. Those were the days when every government officer thought that to go there was a punishment posting.

Everyone felt then it was an unimportant place to work. Late PVRK Prasad, an IAS officer who had the reputation of working with former Prime Minister Late PV Narasimha Rao as media advisor, was posted its Director General and Urmila Subbarao, another IAS officer, was posted as Additional Director General by the then Chandrababu Naidu TDP government. In a way, as many thought, it was a punishment posting for both of them. But later, it was proved otherwise.

When asked why they preferred these postings, the reply from both Prasad and Urmila was, “for relaxing.” But what had happened later was history. There was an incredible transformation of the institute slowly and steadily. An institute which was unfamiliar to many in 1995 was converted into a globally renowned training centre of excellence. All the fame it went on to acquire was due to sheer hard work and indefinable commitment of Prasad and Urmila. As a result, today, anyone posted there feel proud of themselves. As far as I was concerned, I had the opportunity to tour the entire country more than once and also visit United Kingdom, thanks to this institute.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi while taking PV Narasimha Rao into her cabinet asked him to choose his portfolio; to her surprise, he preferred Human Resources to Defence or External Affairs. When she questioned him why he chose relatively an insignificant department, his answer was that in government no department was insignificant. PV transformed Human Resources Ministry and earned it great eminence. “Challenges of Education” document was one of his contributions.

When Gandhi herself was asked to choose her portfolio at the time of joining Lal Bahadur Shastri Cabinet, she selected, to every body’s surprise, Information and Broadcasting department which was then a relatively insignificant one. Everyone knows that later history proved that it is an important portfolio. Late Dr Marri Channa Reddy when being inducted into the union cabinet was given steel and mines portfolio which was considered insignificant then, but he brought name and fame to that beyond anybody’s expectations.

When I was working with Dr M Channa Reddy as his PRO, during his second stint as the CM of AP, Dr Reddy responding to a complaint of corrupt practices on municipal administration, in addition to seeking resignation of late Koneru Ranga Rao, the then Minister, posted a Secretary, an IAS officer, C Arjun Rao to disaster management department which was thought to be relatively insignificant always. Within a few months, after the state was hit by a ghastly cyclone on May 13, 1990, threatening the life and properties, Rao with all his commitment and devoted work took preventive measures saving the lives of thousands of people. The relief and rehabilitation measures he had taken up remain as role model till today.

He thus exhibited the significance and importance of disaster management department which hitherto was thought to be insignificant. The Chief Minister Dr Reddy who transferred Arjun Rao to disaster management had all the praise and it was during that time the famous “Cyclone Reconstruction Project” was envisaged. The all-time great English magazine Readers Digest published a special story on Arjun Rao later.

During Chandrababu Naidu tenure, as part of his Vision-2020 document, Agriculture was relegated to an unimportant place. Once the post of Agriculture Production Commissioner was thought to be insignificant.

But now, greater importance is given to Agriculture with schemes like Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bhima. All this leads to the conclusion that there is no insignificant department in government and all are important. It’s only the people who head them matter and depending their commitment and capacity either they become important or unimportant and that too temporarily. It is the responsibility of the IAS officer who heads the department to prove or disprove this.

Hence, it is not correct on the part of these few IAS officers to complain to Chief Secretary that they have been discriminated against. It is only the attitude and thinking of these IAS officers that make them feel that their postings are insignificant. If we have a look at the postings that they have been given, it is crystal clear that none of them is insignificant or unimportant. One of them having worked as Collector, Commissioner Excise, Vice-Chairman Housing Board, Principal and Special Chief Secretary Revenue, is now posted as Secretary, SC/ST Commission.

At a time when the government is going all-out to extend maximum welfare benefits to SC/ST, there cannot be a better posting than this for any officer. Similarly, the post of Joint Secretary, Municipal Administration, or Joint Secretary (Home) or Joint Secretary (Public Enterprises) or for that matter even DG (Archives) is not insignificant. For a fair thinker, every government department is equally significant!

By: Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao
(Writer is Chief PRO in Telangana Chief Minister’s Office)