The letter says: ``...(Officers) have been threatened with suspension, reversion to their cadre, CBI raids, and adverse remarks in their ACRs etc.... We understand that objectionable words like `third-rate officers, disgusting, inefficient, nuisance, gang of criminals, petty DS/Directors' have been used... We shall be grateful for your kind intervention so that we can work fearlessly and honourably...''

The Minister says she is not aware of the letter.

Sources close to the minister, however, believe problems began as soon as officerswere ordered to work faster and more efficiently. ``For a ministry which has a budget of over Rs 1,700 crore, the last financial year saw almost Rs 350 crore go unutilised,'' says the source ``all because files never moved.''

Officers, the source adds, have been ordered to file progress reports of disposal of cases, release funds without undue delay, complaints to be looked into and disposed of within deadlines. ``The workload has increased five-fold. Naturally, there is a lot of resistance.''

Of the 16 signatories, eight are from the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) and the rest from allied services. They include Savita, Deputy Secretary Animal Welfare, A Chaturvedi, Director Scheduled Caste Division, Lokesh Jha, Dy Sec Minorities, S Rohini, Senior Director, Scheduled Caste Division, Jaswinder Singh and Dalip Singh, both directors of Scheduled Caste Division, Krishan Lal, Director, Finance and P S Mohanty, Director, Tribal Development, among others.

According to the letter, the problem began aftera meeting was convened with the officers of the ministry and the Secretary, soon after Gandhi took over in early March. At the meeting, some of the directors and deputy secretaries had raised ``problems being faced by them on the decisions taken by the secretary (and Minister) for implementation.''

Because of their resistance, says the letter, ``rumours and canards have been spread against some DS/Directors terming them as leaders of `Gang of DS/Directors.' Consequently, Hon'ble MOS (Minister of State) has so far called two officers viz T Gaur and Dr Dalip Singh. We understand that these two officers have been insulted, humiliated and abused...''

Both the officers, say sources in the ministry, invited the wrath of the minister because they noted down their misgivings in the award of documentary film contracts without tenders. The minister's supporters, however, believe that processing of tenders for films is cumbersome and a waste of time and money.

That the minister was enraged by her bureaucrats isapparent in a note she sent, where she accused them of stalling the making of films by independent producers by ``taking refuge in some screening committee which is composed coincidentally of directors, joint secretaries and the secretary to manipulate films.''

Later, sources say, Dalip Singh, director of the publicity division, asked to be transferred to another department, while his successor, Joint Secretary Anand Bordia left on a long assignment abroad.

The Minister of State was particularly perturbed by the ``disruptive and hostile'' behaviour of Dalip Singh. In a letter she sent a month ago to the Department of Personnel, she requested for the officer's transfer to another ministry. According to the letter, the officer was seen to have ``a tendency not only to hold up work but to be extremely rude and hostile to senior officers.''