Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, a remnant of the UPA government, put in his papers four months before the end of his tenure. He had retired as secretary of culture with the Union government and was then appointed as Prasar Bharati CEO in 2012.
Sources say that Mr Sircar had written to Union information and broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu expressing his desire to quit the post before his term expires next February. But those in the know say that Mr Sircar had been planning to leave for a while and had reportedly discussed his intentions with minister of state for I&B Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore before taking the step.
Apparently, he was seen as a vestige of the earlier UPA regime by some in the present government. Sources say that some BJP leaders were not happy with the manner Doordarshan and All-India Radio were being run under
Mr Sircar, specially in the context of current affairs. There was even talk of Mr Sircar being eased out by the year-end. The buzz now is that Sunil Arora, a former I&B secretary, may be appointed to the coveted post.
Bring back the boys
The NDA government, during last 28 months, has appointed three retired bureaucrats on contract basis. It began with Parameswaran Iyer, a 1981 batch UP cadre retired IAS officer who was appointed secretary, drinking water and sanitation. He had resigned from the service in 2009, during which he did a stint as at the World Bank from April 1998 to September 2007. He has the reputation of being a specialist on water and sanitation issues. The second retired babu to be rehired is Sharat Kumar, a Haryana cadre 1979 batch IPS officer who retired as DG, National Investigative Agency last year in October, but was reappointed to the same post on contract for one year.
Joining them now is Orissa cadre IPS officer and former DGP of Orissa, Prakash Mishra who has been named director-general of Central Civil Defence. Mr Mishra was presently engaged as an advisor to the Uttarakhand governor.
Mr Mishra, who retired as CRPF DG on February 29, as the Orissa DG did a commendable job to reduce the Maoist menace in the state.
However, he was later targeted by the Orissa government on various issues and subjected to witch-hunting during the last days of his tenure and even after his Central deputation. But he came unscathed out of it and received a clean chit from the Supreme Court.
Whilst using retired babus is a double-edged sword, wielded by previous regimes too, its been used rarely by the Modi sarkar. Watch this space for more on this phenomenon.
No ad hocism please
It’s taken a directive from the Supreme Court for the government to finally appoint a full-time director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Most likely Karnal Singh, who heads the agency in additional capacity, will be confirmed as its “regular” head.
Just last month the Cabinet Appointments Committee had given a third extension to the 1984-batch IPS officer as special director of the directorate. This possibly led to a PIL being filed in the Supreme Court, challenging the ad hoc appointment and subsequent extensions to Mr Singh, allegedly in contravention of the Central Vigilance Act. The court subsequently directed the government to start the process of appointing a full-time director within four weeks.
According to sources, the government is satisfied with Mr Singh’s performance and is now planning on promoting the UT cadre officer to the rank of additional secretary, and confirm him as the ED’s regular director. And thereby ends a tale that’s been fascinating many in the capital.
