In a record of sorts, CBI Director Praveen Sood has visited 51 out of 58 branches of the agency across the country within 108 days of taking charge, with the remaining seven likely to be covered in the next one month.
Sood took over as the CBI Chief on May 25 and he embarked on a mission to gain a first hand understanding of the agency’s operations at the unit level by visiting the branches, officials said.
Sood’s visits included personal interactions with all staff members, listening to their concerns and seeking ideas besides even breaking bread with them.
These sessions have been fruitful in terms of identification of “ground realities” about the CBI’s functioning across the country and the attitudinal state of mind of the personnel, the officials said. They said the agency boss was apprised of the issues like servicing of summons, gathering intelligence, handling complainants, conducting traps and shortage of staff, during these sessions. Even the lowest rung officials were given the opportunity to interact with him.
Dismissive of the “top-down approach”, the Director banks on the first-hand information about the issues faced by the agency at ground level.
Sood, a former Director General of Police of Karnataka, who has not previously served on Central deputation, has made it a point to visit each of the 58 branches of the CBI by October 15, they said.
These visits in the initial months of taking charge could act as a catalyst in formulation of policies and bringing administrative reforms within the agency during his tenure at the agency to maximize the professional efficiency of the premiere anti-corruption body.
The CBI Director enjoys a minimum of two years fixed tenure, they said,Besides these visits, Sood has also introduced some changes in the administrative side of the agency, with many Joint Directors holding crucial positions being shifted to different zones, and the repatriation of some has also been cleared.
Sood has directed that all departmental promotion committees should be completed within the given deadlines. A large number of vacancies at all levels have been notified to be filled through the promotions at every level so as to boost the morale of the personnel, they said.
In addition, posts have also been advertised for the deputation of specialist officers at the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) level to expedite the investigation of banking fraud cases, they added.