Humne maana ki dakkan mein hai bahut qadre sukhan, kaun jaaye Zauq par Dilli ki galiyan chhod kar” (We hear that poetry is greatly valued in the Deccan these days but, Zauq, who could bear to leave behind the alleyways of Delhi). This famous couplet by legendary Urdu poet Ustaad Zauq, seems to have inspired some Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre to apply every trick in the book to stay put in the National Capital and avoid postings out of Delhi like the plague.
According to the service records of IAS officers of AGMUT cadre, there are at least 14 top IAS officers who have not been posted out of the Capital for the last 10 to 20 years.
Sources told The Pioneer that despite the rules that IAS officers of the AGMUT cadre have to serve one-third of their tenure outside the National Capital, around 14 top IAS officers have been serving here for periods ranging between 10 to 20 years. They have managed to halt their transfers through their political mentors or delayed their posting outside the Capital by manipulating senior bureaucrats at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on personal or medical grounds.
Shakuntala Gamlin, Principal Secretary (Services), a 1984 batch IAS officer with the Delhi Government, is one such person. She has been serving with the Delhi administration for the last 20 years since 1994 and whenever a hard posting was due, she managed to go on central deputation and then come back to the Delhi Government after completing her tenure at the Centre.
She was on central deputation twice, the first time for five years after May 1999 and the second time for six years from April 2008. Between 2004 and 2008, she served as Secretary (Services) in the Delhi Government. On April 2, 2008, she again went on central deputation and joined the Ministry of Health. She returned to Delhi administration in April this year and is currently the Principal Secretary (Services).
Now she is lobbying to get the post of Principal Secretary (Finance). Gamlin had tried to get a transfer to Goa and Arunachal Pradesh, but did not succeed as both Goa and Arunachal Pradesh refused to take her. Gamlin is considered close to Delhi Chief Secretary Deepak Mohan Spolia.
Gamlin's 20-year-long stint in Delhi is against all service rules as senior-scale officers have to serve six-and-a-half years in Delhi, three years in second category and five years in hard posting. The super-time officers have to serve 13 years in Delhi in three tenures, two years in soft areas like Goa and other Union Territories and four years in hard posting.
In toto, an AGMUT cadre officer has to serve 14 years outside Delhi. Also, a super-time IAS officer can go on Central deputation for five years. The Central Government can extend the deputation as per requirement but they have to serve their requisite hard postings.
"To complete all the soft and hard postings outside Delhi, an IAS officer needs to be transferred after every four to five years of continuous service in Delhi. The officer should not stay in Delhi for more than six years of continuous service," said a senior IAS officer.
Some of the other flouters of norms are Secretary (Environment and Forest) Sanjiv Kumar, a 1992 batch officer, who has been in Delhi since 2002. The Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a transfer order last year but he was retained.
SCl Das, a 1992 batch officer, who is currently holding the charge of Secretary (Health) in Delhi Government, has been in Delhi since 2000. Das had served a central deputation between 2005 and September 21, 2012. Between March 25, 2008 and September 22, 2008, Das served as a Director in the Prime Minister's Office. He joined Delhi Government on September 22, 2012.
MM Kutty is in Delhi since 2004. He is currently holding the charge of Principal Secretary (Finance).
Similarly, DTC CMD Debashree Mukherjee, a 1991 batch officer is in Delhi since 2005. Jitendra Narayan, a 1990 batch officer who is holding the charge of labour Commissioner is in Delhi since 2004 while Puneet Goel and Manish Kumar Gupta (both are of the 1991 batch) are in Delhi since 2005. Delhi Jal Board CEO Vijay Kumar, a 1992 batch officer is in Delhi from 2004.
On similar lines, IAS officers Prashant Goyal, Sanjiv Kumar and Amit Yadav have stuck to their postings in the Capital for nearly a decade.
A 1990 batch IAS officer Arun Baroka is currently Secretary (PWD). Baroka is in Delhi since June 13, 2000. He went on central deputation on September 5, 2005 and joined as Director in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. He remained on central deputation till January 4, 2013.
In 2012, the then Home Minister P Chidambaram transferred some IAS officers, including Kutty and Mukherjee. But the then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit intervened and managed to get a few transfers cancelled. Development Commissioner Puneet Goel a 1991 batch officer is in Delhi since 2005.
It is noteworthy that over a dozen IAS officers were transferred by the MHA last month, but except for Arun Goyal, all of them have been retained by lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.