Is Karnataka losing its ‘most favoured state’ tag among civil servants?

Bengaluru: Is Karnataka, once a 'Most Favoured State' for fresh IAS officers losing its sheen thanks to the rotting political system?

A majority of IAS officers to whom Deccan Chronicle spoke expressed concern over Karnataka becoming another Bihar or Uttar Pradesh where political bosses score over bureaucrats who join the service to do something good for society.

The mysterious death of IAS officer D.K. Ravi has outraged citizens across the nation and their outburst against the current political system has come through in the petition signed online asking PM Narendra Modi to order a CBI probe into Mr Ravi's death. Such an overwhelming response had come whenever a honest or upright officer of any state is transferred unceremoniously just because he/she refused to heed netas.

This kind of political trend, often seen in north Indian states, is now clearly visible in Karnataka. Several IAS officers had been targeted and shunted out to insignificant posts just because they failed to dance to the tunes of political leaders. The Congress government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was not an exception in adopting this method to teach a lesson to honest and dedicated officials. Be it the case of Mr Sanjeevkumar, Mr Rajneesh Goel, Ms Rashmi Mahesh, Mr Harsh Gupta or Mr Vijaykumar, the government handed them 'punishment' by transferring them.

Mr Gupta has been transferred 21 times since he joined the Karnataka Cadre in 1999 for not listening to political bosses. Except four or five places where he had completed two years of service, he had been moved out from one department to another within three to four months.

One of the IAS officers told this correspondent that “degeneration has set in Karnataka in the recent past and it is going to continue unless and until somebody set it right. The citizen’s spontaneous response to Mr Ravi's death should open the eyes and ears of the government that it cannot go against people's sentiments any longer. The morale of officials has hit an all time low and young IAS officers no longer like to work in Karnataka due to the corrupt political system. Those who enjoy political patronage and are in the good books of political bosses get good postings-a thing quite common in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh”.

The officer opined that it was an open secret that Karnataka politicians are hand-in-glove with the mafia so they do not tolerate any officer who tries to break this nexus. Any good suggestion given by upright IAS officers to improve society is either turned down or brushed aside. When pursued, it is treated as 'insubordination' and the officer shunted to insignificant departments.

The current political system does not allow any good officer to do good work in his/her departments and ensures their transfer them without citing reasons. So, many officers toe the line and do not take the risk of improving system. They feel it is a waste of time if their new ideas are dumped in the dustbin. "One has to be ready for a sacrifice if they try to bypass the system in the interests of people".

Another officer said "of late, it is a suffocating to work in Karnataka thanks to the interference from politicians. They will exert pressure on civil servants and make them either sit quietly or take a transfer to other departments. Unless and until the head of administration come out in support of his/her subordinates, punishment transfers and the targeting of good officers will become a permanent feature in this system. The mysterious death of Mr Ravi has exposed the extent of pressure civil servants suffer at the hands of politicians".