How tug of war between Maharashtra bureaucrats, politicians has hit Mantralaya

MUMBAI: Once known for their spirit of resistance, top bureaucrats in the state are a weary lot today under pressure of political bosses.
The Maharashtra cadre was the most sought after by Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in the past, with bureaucrats such as Sharad Kale, a 1963 batch IAS officer who served in various departments of state and central government; D M Sukhthankar, a 1956 batch IAS officer who retired as chief secretary (CS) of Maharashtra, and was the first administrator of BMC; and Sudhir Kumar Shrivastava, a 1983 batch IAS officer who worked in finance department for more than a decade, setting the bar high. They unflinchingly dared to oppose their bosses when the latter’s proposals failed to pass muster.
Cut to 2024: Weekly cabinet meetings, convened for important policy decisions, almost mandatorily end up in face-offs between babus and netas. At least three senior officers were recently taken to task in as many cabinet meetings, while many others face subjugation laced with and a volley of derogatory expressions. Discontent has set in within the bureaucracy, said a senior official from Mantralaya.
Last month, when agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde sought to dip into the Namo Shetkari Sanman funds to float the ₹1400 crore project to distribute nano urea and nano DAP to farmers, additional chief secretary (ACS) of the department V Radha opposed it. Radha even suggested it would not help the government reap political gains.
This led the incensed minister to reportedly say, “If an officer of the rank of ACS earning hefty monthly salary is not able to implement the farmer friendly scheme, what is the use of such officers.”
While Munde’s remarks stunned the bureaucracy, no one aligned with Radha. But when the proposal was moved to the finance and planning department for a formal approval, two senior officers – O P Gupta and Rajgopal Deora — put out a strongly worded dissenting note; subsequent efforts in two cabinet meetings to push it failed.
The proposal was stalled but Radha was transferred from the department in just six weeks. She is now the head of the general administration department (GAD).
A few months ago, another upright officer Pravin Gedam, agriculture commissioner, was abruptly transferred as divisional commissioner, Nashik, over differences with Munde.
Munde is not the only minister known to dish out verbal insults. A top political leader has purportedly been using the tack to attack IAS officers opposing government’s proposals. “The finance department has opposed most of the controversial proposals floated by the state, which include allotment of slices of land to organisations associated with ministers from ruling parties,” said a senior bureaucrat from the finance department.
Before the Ladki Bahin yojana was green-lit, for instance, a senior official from the finance department told chief minister Eknath Shinde that the scheme would bleed the state’s coffers and that even paying salaries would become a challenge from January. While the scheme was launched despite opposition, “officers from the finance department are still facing the heat from the government, without any support from senior bureaucrats”.
Women and child welfare department secretary Anup Kumar Yadav reportedly faced a volley of rude remarks from a senior minister when he made a presentation detailing the reasons for delay of in linking the applicants’ Aadhaar numbers with their bank accounts.
In some instances, bureaucrats prefer to succumb to the pressure than confront politicians. A head of a department, on the insistence of a minister, recently moved a scheme for the benefit of senior citizens proposing to source from a contingency fund. This resulted in clashes in the cabinet as the fund is not meant for routine schemes.
A year ago, former disaster management director Appasaheb Dhulaj was transferred to the cotton federation over differences between Anil Patil, a leader from NCP (Ajit Pawar), regarding proposals in relief and rehabilitation. Likewise, Tukaram Mundhe was reportedly transferred as Nashik divisional commissioner for opposing the proposal to transfer a part of the Kurla dairy land for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, by Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, revenue and dairy development minister. The proposal is with the law and judiciary department, awaiting final approval.
So, what has led to such a divided house?
A senior bureaucrat said the friction was the fallout of an unstable political environment and those running government being in a hurry to dole out sops to gain mileage. “Unlike in the past, political bosses do not think twice before pushing decisions disrespecting the rule book and advise by the bureaucracy,” said the bureaucrat.
Officials also blame it on the divided house in the bureaucracy, which emboldens politicians to exert pressure. A senior IAS officer said, the present political dispensation is skilled to overpower the bureaucrats, which has weakened the officers.
Harking back to the past, a retired IAS officer said, bureaucrats were known to raise their voice against unfair treatment to any officer or unreasonable pressure for any particular decision. “Ratnakar Gaikwad, then CS, had led a delegation of officers to the then chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s office for fixing the responsibility of the Adarsh scam on bureaucrats. Two IAS officers were arrested in the case while the politicians allegedly involved were spared. The government had to take cognisance of Gaikwad’s complaint. In another case, Bhagwan Sahay, then ACS, agriculture department, was supported by fellow IAS officers when he did not allow his subordinates to take emergency leave, although he courted allegations of harassment of the subordinates. Such unity is seldom exhibited nowadays,” he said.
Another senior bureaucrat said officers are now more interested in serving their own interest of getting plum postings and after-retirement postings than safeguarding the interest of fraternity. “The treatment to V Radha was shocking, and no one opposed it,” he said. “The bureaucracy is divided in groups and no one stands for each other.”