Orphaned service

Sir, - `IAS - orphaned service' and `The crumbling steel-frame of bureaucracy' (July 17) reveal the anguish of veteran bureaucrats at the collapse of the administrative system, thanks to the whims and fancies of the political bosses. It is pathetic to see a retired Chief Secretary being arrested. A retired Director- General of Police has to seek anticipatory bail to save the embarrassment of being arrested. Arrest is a stigma that will leave a permanent scar, if they were to be discharged later. Will it not affect the morale of those who serve now?

As the IAS and IPS cadres belong to All India services, it is up to the Centre to stop the denigrating trend. To begin with, the Chief Secretary and the DGP must be posted by the department of personnel and must report to the State Governor. This will discipline cadres and prevent them from lobbying for plum posts. Once the powers to transfer and create equivalent posts are withdrawn the system will rejuvenate and the officers will discharge their duties effectively.

S. Ramanathan,

Secunderabad

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Sir, - In his article on the IAS (July 17) Mr. P.K.Doraiswamy has felt compelled to say that ``if all that is expected from All India Service Officers is that they should blindly obey and implement their Chief Minister's orders, right or wrong, legal or illegal, lawful or unlawful, then it is time to wind up these services''. In this context, it would be relevant to look at what Sardar Patel told the Constituent Assembly during the debate on the safeguards to be inserted in the Constitution for the Officers of All India Services: ``If you want an efficient All India Service, I advise you to allow the services to open their mouths freely. If you are a Premier it would be your duty to allow your Secretary or Chief Secretary to express their opinion without fear or favour. But I see a tendency today that in certain provinces the services are set upon and told, `No. You are servicemen, you must carry out our orders'. The Union will go - you will not have a united India, if you do not have a good All India Service which has the independence to speak out its mind, which has a sense of security that you will stand by your word and that after all there is Parliament of which we can be proud, where their rights and privileges are secure. If you do not adopt this course, then do not follow the present Constitution. Substitute something else.'' (Constitutional Law of India: Mr. H. M. Seervai). Mr. Seervai adds, ``His speech hushed the opposition to silence, and all amendments were rejected. But his warning as to the right relations between Ministers and Civil Servants was to go unheeded''.

V. Krishnamachari,

Mumbai

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Sir, - Let me bring to the notice of Mr. Doraiswamy, my own case as a retired Block Development Officer. Everyone knows that action cannot be taken against a retired Government servant `without charges'. I was made a scapegoat after five years of retirement for an `audit objection'. Orders were passed by the so-called IAS officers to the Accountant-General to recover some amount from me. I had brought this matter to the notice of the IAS officers concerned. A high-level committee, headed by the District Collector, formed to take care of the interest of officials, tried to recover the `audit objection' amount without studying the relevant rules and regulations. Before passing the recovery orders should they not give the person concerned a chance to put up his case? I was driven to the court of law to protect my interest and the Administrative Tribunal ordered the refund of the amount. S. Subramanian,

Chennai

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Sir, - The two articles on IAS and IPS cadres (July 17) mirror facts. They deserve to be preserved in the archives. The IAS and IPS cadres have no forum to ventilate their grievances. They are blamed for the failures of the political leaders. The party in power always uses them to achieve its ends and the party in opposition dubs them as stooges.

Pingali Krishnamurty,

Hyderabad

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