Quiver, June 23, 2024
Sanjay K. Dixit
Collector should take cognizance
If the news of SDM and Patwari is appearing on the top of the Tarkash column, then you can understand its seriousness. Actually, a big game is going on in the entire state with the connivance of SDM and Patwaris…delete the name from the papers, and then run around SDM and extract money in lieu of adding the name. Actually, if the name is removed from the land papers by mistake, then the government has given the authority to the SDM to add the name after checking the documents. But under the cover of this authority, the Patwari and SDM have created such a ruckus that the common man is crying for help. Experts smell a conspiracy in this. Because, how can names disappear on such a large scale. Most of the SDM offices are crowded every day…hundreds of applications are being submitted to correct the name. Babus of SDM office are deciding the rate by looking at the appearance of the applicant. If he is a common man then 10 to 15 thousand and if he is well off then 20 thousand to 30 thousand. Collectors should look into this because Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai has also said on many occasions that there are many irregularities in the revenue department. If the collector reviews it every month, the mess in SDM offices will be controlled to a great extent. Otherwise, the government is in action mode right now. People are being directly suspended or discharged.
IAS postings
Vishnudev government of Chhattisgarh issued posting orders for three officers yesterday, in which Namrata Jain has been made CEO of Sukma Zila Panchayat. Namrata’s posting has been done on the basis of her husband’s posting. Her IPS husband is ASP in Sukma. Therefore, Namrata was trying for Sukma. And by her luck, a vacancy for IAS was also created there. Actually, CEO of Sukma Zila Panchayat Laxman Tiwari is shifting to Bihar after cadre change. On the other hand, Rajat Bansal has been given additional charge of MNREGA Commissioner. He already has charge of GST Commissioner, Director Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. On top of that, MNREGA too. Rajat had come to GSAT from MNREGA itself. It has been learnt that the post of MNREGA Commissioner had become vacant due to Deepak Soni leaving as the collector of Balodabazar. And Rural and Panchayat Minister Vijay Sharma was repeatedly requesting that someone should be posted. It is understood that this posting of Rajat will be temporary. Because, there is a lot of work in GST and PM Awas. In such a situation, it is possible that a full-time MNREGA commissioner will be appointed in the next administrative reshuffle. As for the third IAS Kuldeep Sharma being made the Registrar of Co-operative Society, Deepak Soni also had this charge. So, after his removal, Kuldeep got the charge of Registrar. With this posting, Kuldeep has become the topmost among his counterparts. He already has the responsibility of Controller Food and Drugs and MD Text Book Corporation. Now Registrar on top of that. Registrar is considered to be a very resourceful post. In Madhya Pradesh, even now IAS with less than 15 years of service are not made Registrar.
List of Collectors
After the Lok Sabha elections, two collectors have returned to the pavilion after being hit wickets. First Kanker collector Abhijeet Singh was removed and after him the government removed Baloda Bazar collector KL Chauhan. After the Lok Sabha elections, about a dozen collectors were to be changed. Two of them left on their own. So, it seems that collectors of five-seven districts can be changed. The first parameter of the government in this is said to be two years of tenure completion and performance. Especially, many of the collectors posted in the Congress government, who were spared in the reshuffle in January, will be changed or shifted to some other district. These include Vijay Dayaram Jagdalpur, Janmjay Mohbe Kawardha, Rahul Dev Mungeli, Dr. Ravi Mittal Jashpur, R Ekka Balrampur, Vinay Langeh Korea, S. Jaywardhane Manpur-Mohla Jaywardhane and Haris S. Sukma. Out of these, Ravi Mittal is said to be willing to step down and Dayaram will have to step down if BJP President Kiran Singhdev does not veto him. But when will this happen? This is not yet final…but discussion on names has begun in the CM House.
Ajay Singh’s Lottery
The government has removed retired Chief Secretary Ajay Singh from the NITI Aayog and posted him as State Election Commissioner. Now the question will come later as to for whom the vacancy has been created in the NITI Aayog. Right now we will talk only about Ajay Singh. Actually, Ajay’s profile and reputation has increased due to this posting. The post of State Election Commissioner is equivalent to that of a sitting judge of the High Court. Also, this is a constitutional post…once posted, the government cannot remove him. For this, impeachment will have to be brought. Ajay Singh’s younger brother is a judge of the Patna High Court and now Ajay Singh has also become equal to him in rank. Anyway, Ajay Singh has been lucky in terms of posting from the beginning. Except for one case of being suddenly removed from the post of Chief Secretary in the Congress government, he always got good postings in his 37 years of IAS service. In the Raman government, he was once the Chairman of the Electricity Company along with Secretary Energy. He was the Excise Secretary and Commissioner of the same department for a long time. He also held charge of Finance Secretary, Urban Administration, Health and APC. However, his posting has further increased the dignity of the post of State Election Commissioner. Because, after the formation of Chhattisgarh, only two Chief Secretary level officers have been posted in this commission. First Shivraj Singh and second Ajay Singh. Actually, this is also a post of Chief Secretary rank. The scale is also that of CS.
Cabinet Expansion
As per the news coming from the corridors of power, Vishnudev’s cabinet will be expanded by the first week of July. There is a reason for this. In a state with 12 ministers, two ministerial posts have become vacant. One seat was already vacant, the other became vacant after Brijmohan Agarwal’s resignation. In such a situation, the maximum load has come on the Chief Minister. He already had GAD, Mining, Excise, Transport departments, now Brijmohan has also got Education, Culture, Tourism and Parliamentary Affairs. Actually, on December 21, after the oath taking of the ministers, the departments were divided, in that order it was written that the department which is not with any minister will be considered with the Chief Minister. Under this order, Brijmohan’s departments came to the CM. Obviously, some departments of the CM will be given to the new ministers and some departments will be shifted from one place to another.
Two seats, half a dozen contenders
More than a dozen MLAs elected for the first time are having dreams of becoming ministers every day… some have morning dreams… wearing saffron coloured jackets… taking oath in Raj Bhawan. It is said that morning dreams come true… so two-three MLAs are so confident that they have even visited the ministry and seen their sitting places etc. Anyway, if we talk about the ground reality… half a dozen names are being discussed vigorously for two posts in Vishnudev cabinet. These include Rajesh Munat from Raipur, Ajay Chandrakar from Kurud, Gajendra Yadav from Durg, Lata Usendi from Kondagaon, Amar Agarwal from Bilaspur and Bhavna Bohra from Pandaria. Political pundits claim that two out of these six will be made ministers. However, the names of these two ministers will be finalized by the central leadership but CM Vishnudev’s opinion will be important. Because, he has to take work from the ministers and give results.
Cabinet and ethnic balance
At present, six ministers in Chhattisgarh’s council of ministers are from OBC. Two are from tribal and one each from general and dalit category. Arun Sao, OP Choudhary, Lakhanlal Devangan, Shyambihari Jaiswal, Laxmi Rajwade and Tankaram Verma are from OBC. Similarly, Ramvichar Netam and Kedar Kashyap are from tribal. Vijay Sharma is from general category and Dayaldas Baghel is from dalit community. Brijmohan Agarwal was also from general category, but he has resigned. Obviously, OBC has an upper hand in Vishnudev’s cabinet at present. If an OBC has to be made a minister from the two vacant posts, then resignation will have to be taken from one. Because seven out of 12 ministers cannot be from OBC. Then there have always been two ministers from Bastar. This is the first time that there are three ministers from Surguja and only one from Bastar. In such a situation, Lata Usendi’s chances have increased. Because, she will represent the tribal as well as women category. Now, talking about general category. There were four ministers from general category in Ajit Jogi government. After that, Raman Singh’s government remained in power for 15 years. In that too, three ministers were from this category. But now after Brijmohan’s resignation, there is only one minister. It is obvious that the government will definitely take one minister from the general category. These can include any one name from Rajesh Munat to Amar Agarwal, Bhavna Bohra.
Finally, two questions for you
1. Will a retired and experienced bureaucrat or a subject expert be made the Vice-Chairman of Chhattisgarh’s NITI Aayog?
2. Is the news true that in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle, one of the three ministers from Surguja will be dropped?
