Minor changes, kindly adjust

In last week’s appointment of seven additional secretaries in various ministries it was the shifting of U.P. Singh, the all-powerful additional secretary in the petroleum ministry to the water resources ministry that raised the most eyebrows. Even the intra-ministry transfer of Gujarat-cadre IAS officer and Narendra Modi-confidante Girish Murmu from expenditure to the financial services department within the finance ministry is seen as a minor “adjustment”.

But in the case of Mr Singh, many in Dilli suspect there is more than meets the eye behind his transfer. Mr Singh is somewhat of an expert in the petroleum sector having been joint secretary exploration, interim chairperson of Oil India. Buzz has it that his transfer may be related to the recent outing of the Comptroller and Auditor-General report. In its report, the national auditor has pulled up the Gujarat government-run Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC) for mismanaging its exploration — and development-related activities in its KG basin and overseas assets, leading to higher costs and financial losses.

It is suspected that Mr Singh was looking into the questions raised against the state government-run company and may have trodden on a few toes in the process, hastening his departure from the petroleum ministry.

Babu reshuffle in Tamil Nadu Now that the election din has died down, Tamil Nadu’s newly re-elected chief minister J. Jayalalithaa effected a major reshuffle of the bureaucracy within hours of taking oath. The reshuffle was to reverse the transfers of several senior IPS and IAS officers made under directions from the Election Commission.

The state government has brought back former Chennai police commissioner T.K. Rajendran and former ADGP for law and order J.K. Tripathy. The two babus were among many others who had been moved out by the EC following complaints from the rival DMK party for their alleged proximity to the AIDMK leader. Other babus who have been brought back include senior IAS officer T.N. Venkatesh, M. Mathivanan, S. Swarna and R. Nanthagopal, among others.

Meanwhile in neighbouring Kerala, with the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government coming to power, observers expect to see a major shakeup in the babu ranks, beginning at the top. Buzz is that M. Sivasankar, a 1995-batch IAS officer, and current chairman of the Kerala State Electricity Board will be the new principal secretary to the chief minister, replacing Subrata Biswas who served under former chief minister Oommen Chandy. Watch this space for updates.

Love them, hate them ignore them at national peril, is the babu guarantee and Dilip’s belief. Share significant babu escapades dilipcherian@hotmail.com