Junior health minister Dinesh Trivedi continues his tirade against bureaucrats; moots all-India Health Service independent of IAS

IN YET another blast against bureaucrats, Trinamool Congress leader and minister of state for health Dinesh Trivedi said he doubted the efficiency of bureaucrats in his own ministry, and proposed to create a separate cadre for health services. Minister Trivedi’s proposal of an all-India health service is in line with Railways services where officers go up the ladder to reach top positions.

Trivedi who was at the loggerhead with health secretary K Sujatha Rao over a Rs 140-crore health portal, had recently said that college kids would do better than bureaucrats in health ministry. (Read: College kids versus bureaucrats)

Now, Trivedi has publicly demonstrated his displeasure of his own team of bureaucrats. While speaking at industry lobby Ficci in New Delhi on Monday, minister Trivedi, however, added that he had not questioned the sincerity of bureaucrats but had doubts on efficiency of his ministry’s bureaucrats. (Also Read: Trivedi, Rao and Rs 140 cr portal)

So long as Trivedi’s proposal of creating a separate Indian Health Service on the line of Railway services is concerned, it’s not an easy task at all, as such steps would be vehemently opposed by the IAS lobby as it would curb their power. Currently, IAS officers have no control over Indian Railways and postal departments where their own cadres clinch the top posts. There has been a silent movement of 4000-plus IRS-IT officers to reorient their cadre in the line of the Indian Railways, but it’s a Herculean task considering the fact that currently revenue secretary happens to be an IAS whereas CBDT and CBEC chairmen are officers at the rank of special secretaries.

For Trivedi, the proposal seems to be one straight from his heart, as it lacks basic groundwork and a reality check. Sometime ago, HRD ministry too toyed with an idea of creating an Indian Education Service. No wonder, senior bureaucrats of any department for that matter do not attach much importance to the diktats of ministers of states, as they know for sure who ultimately calls the shots in the ministry! Is Trivedi’s serial tirade against his own bureaucrats a fallout of  senior bureaucrats ignoring him?

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Action and Appointments

a) UN Panjiyar, a 1973 batch Bihar cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of water resources will hold the additional charge of the post of secretary in ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, for a period of two months with effect from September 1, 2010 or until further orders.

b) Kapil Mohan, a 1990 batch Karnataka cadre, presently working as director in the ministry of power has been appointed as Deputy Director General (DDG), Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in the rank and pay of joint secretary.

c) The ACC has approved the proposal of the ministry of home affairs for the appointment of RK Medhekar, a 1975 batch Kerala cadre IPS, presently working as special DG, BSF, as Director General, National Security Guard (NSG).