Related Stories Post-arrests, state ‘high’ but alertPeacock deaths cause a flutterKullu: Valley of gods and ganjaPost-retirement, babus grab plum postsAnti-terror Bill triggers fresh round of conflict between BJP, Congress

Santosh Singh: On June 23, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar used his janta darbar to send out a stern message to his bureaucrats to pull up their socks and cooperate with public representatives on development and welfare schemes.

His strong reaction came after a flurry of complaints by mayors, deputy mayors and ward commissioners, who were unhappy with babus “marginalising” their roles in the implementation of development/welfare schemes in their areas. Several MLAs also complained that they were not being invited to the launch of development schemes in their constituencies.

Does this strong message by Nitish Kumar from a public platform mean that he has turned the tables on his bureaucrats?

Nitish, known for supporting bureaucrats during his tenure as Railway Minister and also for most part of his present term as Chief Minister, is slowly getting wary of his executive, possibly because they are not catching up with the pace of his “new Bihar” plan.

Recently, Nitish found himself in an “embarrassing” situation when the Medical Council of India (MCI) refused to inspect the sites of proposed medical colleges in the state — one each at Betia, Madhepura and Pawapuri — because none of the areas had infrastructure as per the MCI guidelines. The state Government had moved the proposals to the Centre without “any homework” such as earmarking 25 acres of land for a college with 300-bed hospital, said an MCI source.

The instance made it clear that the Chief Minister was wrongly advised by his men in their bid to “rush with the development agenda”.

In another such instance, the Government was compelled to “show the door” to Tantia Construction Limited midway through its mega road construction assignments in the state. Nitish might not have been vocal in lambasting his babus for choosing a “wrong” company, but open manholes, unfinished roads and dug-up roadsides must be frustrating the man who is riding on the “development wave” in Bihar.

Political analysts call snubbing of babus by CM a “compulsion and also a politics of pragmatism”. As the Railway Minister, Nitish vested more powers in his bureaucrats by dissolving the Railway Recruitment Board, often dubbed as an “instrument of political postings”. He further gave “zero interference (by politicians)” zone at Railway Bhavan to his bureaucrats. Nitish still believes that the present “turnaround” of railways has to do a great deal with his “introduction of professionalism in the ministry”.

Back to Bihar, it is not the first time that public representatives have complained about the babus’ “indifference”. But the Chief Minister’s recent outburst is an indication that he wants things in order ahead of next year’s general elections. 

The big shift on babus may well be a strategy to spur them on because Nitish perhaps does not want time to run out on him.

editor@expressindia.com