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“Compulsory waiting”

Eek! It’s compulsory waiting/ - How a harmless coinage metamorphosed into a dreaded sword

DEVADEEP PUROHIT AND PRANESH SARKAR, Telegraph India

Is “compulsory waiting” a punishment or a reward?

The Telegraph chronicled the chequered history of the deceptive “compulsive waiting” [in West Bengal; and thus, India]

Benign birth

The expression was coined to denote a situation where an officer has to wait in case there are no vacancies in the posts earmarked for the cadre. An officer on “compulsory waiting” is expected to automatically get a posting whenever there is a vacancy. At times, officers returning from central deputation have to spend a few days on “compulsory waiting” till they are assigned a post.

The government can send any of its employees — from top bureaucrats to Group D staff — on compulsory waiting.

So, “compulsory waiting” was little more than a sterile coinage — as most official terms are expected to be.

Baby grows fangs

As the number of IAS or IPS officers is far lower than the number of posts in Bengal, ideally there should be no one on compulsory waiting. But officers are regularly put on compulsory waiting, which has strengthened a perception that it is punishment bay. More WBCS officers find themselves in the category than those from the IAS.

“In Bengal, compulsory waiting is used as a tool to punish officers who upset the establishment,” said a senior IAS officer. “The earlier government also used it but this government has taken it to new heights,” he added.

According to him, a classic example is the case of former WBPDCL chairman Barun Roy, who was placed on compulsory waiting for going on a foreign trip without clearance from the top.

Another official recalled a minister thundering a few years ago, pointing to an IAS officer who was suspected to have leaked information to a journalist: “We have to put this officer on compulsory waiting.”

The cloud of leak appears to be a sure-fire passport to “compulsory waiting” country. An official recounted how a senior IAS officer put two personal secretaries of his predecessor on compulsory waiting as he was suspicious that the two individuals had been leaking information under their earlier boss.

The concept is by no means confined to Bengal. Veteran officers from Bihar recalled that such postings were common when Lalu Prasad was in power.

Since the phrase had not lost its original meaning then, officers in Bihar used the expression “waiting for posts” to differentiate the penalised category from those waiting because of other reasons. Behind the backs of those punished, a more evocative but less considerate “corridor posting” was preferred.

Life changes

“Life is difficult when you are put on compulsory waiting,” said an officer who has seen his colleagues suffer.

There is no designated post for the person and the officer remains without work. But that doesn’t mean that the officer can idle at home. The officer has to report every day to a designated officer and spend the working hours in the vicinity. Which means that the Bihar coinage — “corridor posting — is not entirely a misnomer.

Officers on compulsory wait are entitled to monetary benefits. But in the absence of any post, they do not get other tangibles — office car, telephone bill reimbursement —and the intangible benefit called sense of power. “As the connotation of compulsory waiting has become negative, it is a stigma for any self-respecting person,” said an officer.

Fear factor

So, compulsory waiting is a Sword of Damocles that was never meant to be so. Some bureaucrats complained that the stick of compulsory waiting is often dangled to make the officers pliant.

However, it is also all in the mind.

A young IAS officer said. “The fact is no one wants to be put on compulsory waiting.”

Transfer as punishment

The Transfermers

The Times of India 2013/08/08

The controversial suspension of Gautam Budh Nagar SDM Durga Sakthi Nagpal created waves and set the UP government on a collision course with the Centre. The Times of India presents a snapshot of cases from across the country where IAS, IPS and even forest service officers were shunted out, often because their political bosses found their work inconvenient. Based on media reports, these are cases that made headlines. There would be many others that didn’t get reported or don’t figure in this selection

The broad picture

SC ordered minimum tenure of police officers: 2 years

(Rajasthan) CM Ashok Gehlot’s shuffled 179 IAS officers on 480 postings since Dec 2008

In UP, DGs transferred at least once a year on average

(UP) Mayawati made 578 bureaucratic transfers in 1995, 777 in 1997, 970 in 2002, 1,000 in 2007

Some celebrated 21st century cases

Sanjay Chaturvedi (2002) Haryana | INDIAN FOREST SERVICE

Had 5 criminal cases slapped on him. Petitioned SC in 2012 requesting CBI inquiry into scams exposed during his seven-year service

Anand Swaroop (1994) UP | IPS

Joke goes before he’s unpacked in a new posting, his transfer order’s ready

38 postings in 18 yrs. Eight yrs, 8 postings. Remaining 30 in 10 yrs

Akhil Arora (1993) Rajasthan | IAS

The MD, Jaipur Metro Rail Corp, transferred when he decided to invite competitive bids for Metro project’s II phase allegedly against political will At least five postings since April 2009

Samit Sharma | Rajasthan | IAS

Chittorgarh collector shunted out in 2010 because he refused to sack a clerk for failing to stand up when a [ruling party] MLA entered his office New Cases

Ashish Kumar UP | District Mining Officer, Gautam Budh Nagar July 25, 2013 |

Shunted out two days before Nagpal

Kumar worked with Nagpal to impound trucks carrying illegal sand

In Feb Kumar and juniors attacked in a village when they halted a convoy of 13 tractor-trolleys loaded with illegally mined sand

Pankaj Choudhary Rajasthan | IPS

Aug 4 | Jaisalmer SP transferred for reopening case on July 31 against [ruling party] MLA Saleh Mohammad’s father Gazi Fakir, allegedly involved in smuggling activities along border

Ashish Kumar Tamil Nadu | IAS

District collector of Tuticorin transferred on August 6, 2013, hours after he ordered raid on sand mines

Some 20th century cases

OLD GUARD

Arun Bhatia Maharashtra | IAS (Retd)

26 postings in 26 years. As Collector of Bombay, exposed land scandals involving senior IAS officers. Former Pune municipal commissioner fought builder-politician mafia

G R Khairnar Maharashtra | IAS (Retd)

Mumbai’s demolition man. Targeted Mumbai’s illegal land mafia during 1990s’ construction boom.

Dared to take on then CM Sharad Pawar Based on media reports

Raju Narayana Swamy (1991) Kerala | IAS

The IITian (Chennai) with a brilliant academic record recently became India’s first service officer to complete national disaster management course

Went all guns blazing against illegal land deals by politicians, their families

Reportedly took on his father-in-law, a contractor, over an encroachment that he finally ordered cops to demolish 24 postings in 20 yrs; has written 25 books

C Umashankar (1990) TN | IAS

Madurai’s additional collector exposed cremation-shed scam that led to Jayalalithaa’s poll defeat

Faced suspension for taking on the Marans as jt vigilance commissioner

Suspended pending inquiry into genuineness of his, a dalit officer, community certificate. Filed petition questioning manual of state directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption

Poonam Malakondaiah (1998) Andhra | IAS

As agricultural commissioner dragged MNC seed company Monsanto to MRTPC. Co had to reduce

BT cotton seeds’ price. Transferred soon after.

EAS Sarma (1965) Andhra Pradesh | IAS 26 postings in 35 yrs

Ex-Union energy secretary

Strongly opposed TDP govt’s move in 1994-95 to rope in big power plants without competitive bidding

Unsuccessful, moved to central posting. Said, “If you can’t tolerate corruption, get out of the way.”

Damayanti Sen West Bengal | Kolkata police crime wing’s first woman chief

Cracked Park Street rape case as JCP (Crime) in 2010

Transferred two months later to a training post for allegedly proving CM Mamata Banerjee wrong

Transferred again within year to Darjeeling as DIG in Feb 2013

Rahul Sharma (1992) Gujarat | IPS 12 postings in 20 yrs

IIT Kanpur engineer, law graduate SP (Bhavnagar, 2002) opened fire on Hindu mob.

Shunted to Ahd police control room There, he procured call details of politicos, cops in riot days

Details that he submitted led to arrest of riot-accused Maya Kodnani, ex-member of CM Modi’s Cabinet, and VHP’s Jaydeep Patel

In 2011, he was chargesheeted for violating Official Secrets Act

Currently posted as DIG, Special Reserve Police, Vadodara

Manoje Nath (1973) Bihar | IPS (Retd) 40 postings in 39 yrs

Considered too upright, no-nonsense attitude thorn in political flesh

Amitabh Thakur (1992) UP | IPS 22 postings in 18 yrs

Proposed to DoPT changes in rules that’ll help officers expose graft

Bhawani S Detha | (1999) Rajasthan | IAS

8 postings since January 2009

Vikas Kumar (2004) Rajasthan | IPS

IITian, transferred from Bharatpur district after massive crackdown on mining mafia

In a single day in Mar 2012, Kumar arrested 97 people from mines in Pahari region

MLA Zahida Khan agitated for his transfer. He was sent off a month later

Mugdha Sinha Rajasthan | Jhunjhunu’s first woman collector

Posted in 2010, district collector shunted out in 2011 for allegedly taking on mining mafia close to local [ruling party] legislator

Gift policy for bureaucrats

The Times of India, Apr 20 2015

Centre relaxes gift policy for babus

Up To `5,000, No Govt Sanction Needed

Civil servants can now accept gifts up to Rs 25,000 from relatives and personal friends on occasions such as weddings etc, without reporting the same to the government. Gifts from other contacts may be received without government sanction as long as their value does not exceed Rs 5,000, according to the amended provisions of the All India Service (Conduct) Rules, 1968, relating to gifts. The Rs 5,000-limit shall cover free transporation, boarding and lodging.

The rules prior to the amendment required bureaucrats to report gifts exceeding Rs 5,000 from near relatives and personal friends, and those exceeding Rs 1,000 from others, to the government.

As per the new rules, “a member of the service may accept gifts from his near relatives or from his personal friends having no official dealings with them, on occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, funerals and religious functions when the giving of gifts is in conformity with the prevailing religious and social practice, but they have to make a report to the government if the value of such a gift exceeds Rs 25,000“. For persons other than relatives or friends, the rules now state that “no member of the service shall accept any gift without the sanction of the government if the value of the gift exceeds Rs 5,000“.This rule, however, would not apply to casual meals, casual lift or other social hospitality.

Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) are the three all-India services.

See also

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS)