Thiruvananthapuram: Witch hunting of IAS officers of Kerala in the name of vigilance inquiries will figure prominently at the national meet of Central Indian Administrative Service Officers Association taking place in Delhi on Saturday.
The association which represents over 4800 IAS officers across the country, will deliberate on checking unnecessary harassment, witch hunting of officials besides safeguards required for protecting honest officials. While the association is in favour of strong action against corrupt officials, it is against vigilance and other probe agencies working with the assumption that all officials are corrupt. Such an attitude was affecting the morale of the officers.
The meeting will also emphasise on government’s prior permission for initiating vigilance inquiries and probe against bureaucrats. The association favours a conducive atmosphere for officials to discharge their duties in a free and fair manner.
The representatives from Kerala will inform the meet about of the spate of vigilance inquiries and cases against senior officers. They would also oppose the system of leaving anonymous complaints, petitions to the discretion of vigilance officials alone.
The association believes that government’s permission is necessary to avoid needless harassment of officials. It says as per an earlier government order, in the event of a petition or complaint against officer the vigilance should first send it to Secretary (Vigilance and Home) and refrain from taking suo motu action on it. The government will decide whether the officer against whom the complaint is given, should face inquiry.
The association will also take up the matter of officers not being given jobs commensurate with therir qualification. The appointments are made mainly according to the whims and fancies of political leadership. In this backdrop the big question is how best the human capital can be best utilised for the people.
What will be the role of IAS officers in the wake of technological advancement? How to blend the technical and social capabilities? Among the IAS officers 60 to 65 per cent are technically qualified and how best their technological expertise can be used for enhancing the quality of administrative services.
