FREQUENT TRANSFERS

Transfers, though disruptive, are accepted as a normal part of babudom. But frequent transfers can be frustrating. In Karnataka, frequent transfers have driven a section of senior bureaucrats to lodge a formal protest with chief secretary Subhas Chandra Khuntia, who also heads the state civil services board. Sources report that the last straw was the latest round of transfers ordered by the Siddaramaiah government. Some of the babus ordered out have spent less than six months in their post.

There are many examples, sources say. Prominent among those transferred are P. Manivannan, who was posted as secretary, social welfare department, late last year. Munish Moudgil is back as commissioner, survey, settlement and land records, after he was abruptly transferred from the post last year after a fallout with the previous chief secretary. The housing department has had three secretaries in the past six months or so.

The situation is so bad, sources say, that some babus are even contemplating moving to the Centre on deputation or even abroad for an academic course. Though the Supreme Court in 2013 had suggested fixed tenures for bureaucrats and an independent body to deal with abrupt transfers, the state took three years to constitute the board, but clearly has little influence on the decisions of the political authority.