IF THE recent spurt of income tax raids at the premises of all powerful IAS officers of the country is any indication, there is an underlying message – the high and mighty of Indian administration too have to pay a price for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income. But who has taken this key decision of intruding into IAS officers’ citadel?
Does it mean that politicians of the ruling party have suddenly woken up to the fact that some of its top administrators, read Arvind or Tinoo Joshi, or Babulal Agrawal, have amasses huge cash-in-hand giving complexity to the country’s most corrupt politicians? Or else, does it mean IAS officers had all along been clean, and their resorting to corruption is a relatively new phenomenon?
Both these arguments are absurd, and rather ridiculous. But why then IAS or retired IAS officers (read former mining secretary of Jharkhand, Jaishankar Tiwari) are being repeatedly targeted by tax sleuths only now? If sources close to the development are correct, I-T officials (IRS officers) who are numbered over 4000 have been silently waging a war to end supremacy of IAS in the department, and in the process have shown their strength by targeting the vulnerable lot among the powerful IAS.
In fact, unlike in the railways or postal departments where IAS officers don’t dictate terms, the IRS officers ultimately come under the revenue secretary of the ministry of finance, and the top IRS officer, or the chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes, holds the rank of a special secretary – one notch below the full-fledged secretary. In other words, the current CBDT chairman, for example, is two batches senior to revenue secretary Sunil Mitra, a 1975 batch IAS, but in the rank he is junior to Mr Mitra.
Significantly, the relations between top taxmen of the country and former revenue secretary PV Bhide, a 1972 batch AP cadre IAS, reached all time low, particularly after the direct tax code was unveiled without consulting the CBDT board members. As the Code proposed to curtail the power of the taxmen by making them a mere a tax collecting entity, all IRS officers fought the battle in unity, and virtually paralyzed the idea originally mooted by former finance minister P Chidambaram and a handful of his key officers. But current finance minister Pranab Mukherjee agreed to the taxmen’s concerns, and the Code is unlikely to get featured in the forthcoming General Budget.
It now remains to be seen whether the country’s top taxmen succeed in converting CBDT into a full-fledged department in line with Indian Railways or India Post, but their recent targets in IAS officers’ premises have sent jitters through powerful administrators across the country who otherwise find their premises almost impregnable from all quarters including the tax hounds!
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Action and Appointments
a) Prabeer Kumar Basu, a 1976 batch Bihar cadre IAS has been appointed as secretary in the department of agriculture and cooperation in place of T Nanda Kumar, a 1972 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS who is retiring on February 28, 2010 .
b) The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) has approved that SK Singh, A 1984 batch IPS may be relieved with effect from the receipt of orders.
c) The extension of tenure of Rajive Kumar, a 1981 batch UP cadre IAS and joint secretary in Cabinet Secretariat has been approved for a period of one year with effect from March 13, 2010 .
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weeding out the corrupt should be a mission in itself and not a means to settle scores.
ReplyDeleter.b.
I guess some bit of clarification is required regarding difference between a Secretary and Special Secretary.
ReplyDelete1. A full Secretary is the Administrative Head of a Dept. where as a Special Secretary is usually a Secretary rank officer who is not the Administrative Head of the Dept.
2. Both draw a salary of Rs. 80,000 p.m. fixed
3. All officers including that of IAS are promoted as a Special Secreatry on promotion from the rank of Addl. Secreatary when there is already a Secretary who is the administrative Head.
4. The media, including you are not aware of the finer distinctions as it seems from your writeup.
5.Yes, CBDT Chairman should be made a full Secretary instead of a Spl. Secretary but that would mean the IAS strong hold over Income-Tax Dept.getting weak. Since, the COS and Cabinet Secretary are that from IAS, they wouldn't let it happen at any cost.
6. Therefore to sum up CBDT Chairman is not a grade Junior to Secretary Revenue as pointed out by you but it is essentially by virtue of Administrative Powers with the Revenur Secretary that vests some part of decision making with him which can be definitely done away with. Same for CBEC Chairman as well.
Dear Editor,
ReplyDeleteThe recent raids on the officers of Indian Administrative Service and other Central services have exposed the “Holy Cows” whose greed for wealth and money is limitless. The seers in this land have always propagated renunciation but these followers of those seers never acted upon their advice. These so called holy cows have been trapped and their black deeds have been exposed in these raids. They have milked this nation through endless corrupt means still their greed is unsatisfied. The message should go clearly that how so ever high or mighty one may be in the administration of affairs of state, have to pay a price for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income through corrupt means.
Standing ovation to all those who have taken this decision of intruding into breaking the bogus notion honesty amongst IAS officers. Everyone of us living in this society know that most of them are thoroughly corrupt and are no less than the blood sucking feudal lords of 18th Century France and Europe. The false elation and façade of clean image is slowly being shattered to the ground and is in front of people of this country. What kind of training is being imparted at LBSNAA to these thoroughly useless people? Corruption is not a new phenomenon in this highest service it is going on since many decades may be from the very inception. The kind and volume may have been varied but corruption per-se was prevailing even during colonial rule of empire days.
This country would see shocking revelations once the “Whistle Blower” Bill is enacted into Law. The false and pseudo superiority would come stumbling down to the ground and they would know the real meaning of public service.
Why an IAS, a generalist boss over experts? Let taxmen manage their own affairs at Apex level, is a valid argument, but who would manage the tax man. All powerful multi-disciplinary authority needs to be formed to have better control over such matters. The toothless CVC and inefficient CBI should also have officers from multi-discipline. This would definitely improve the success rates of agency like CBI. The officers of CVC should apply themselves thoroughly before giving even 1st stage advice against any officer of any department. This would separate the corrupt from the honest. A strict accountability also needs to be fixed on the bureaucrats and politicians in authority who intentionally and falsely implicate innocents and upholder of law and policy of government in false cases.
INdian revenue service rocks!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe shouldnot enter into such kind of debate, rather work together to strenghten the democracy and rule of law in this country. Try to eradicate all evils from the society. The role of each service is unique. In today scenario IAS is on top of all services.
ReplyDelete