Bureaucrats clash over perks

KOLKATA: The much-hyped austerity drive of the state government has led to a virtual stand-off between the IAS top brass and the middle-tier officers belonging to the West Bengal Civil Services.
The WBCS (Executive) Officers Association, while supporting the government circular on curbing wasteful expenditure, has shot off a letter to the chief minister on Thursday complaining that the drive was biased against them and the lower-level employees.
"We have reasons to believe that the circular was issued by those enjoying perks and privileges brazenly disregarding rules and drawing allowances not enjoyed by the state civil services officers despite performing the same job at a different level. It deliberately hurts the middle tier of the administration," the letter stated.
For instance, the new directives regarding cars, phones, etc. have allowed departmental secretaries and special secretaries, mostly IAS officers, to use separate cars.
But joint secretaries, mostly WBCS officers, have been asked to use the pool car, three per ve-hicle while subordinates including deputy secretaries have been denied the privilege. Restriction on phones has also hurt WBCS cadres the most, fumed the association.
"The new measures, instead of addressing serious issues, seeks to wipe out the administration''s middle tier that constitutes the pivot of our system," added the letter.
The association sought an "adequate infrastructural back-up to strengthen the tier" to ensure a smooth implementation of the development projects.
It demanded a committee of ministers to make periodical review of the drive fearing "arm-twisting" by their IAS superiors.