SP govt kept mum on many tainted babus

LUCKNOW: Even as the Samajwadi Party served the chargesheet on IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal describing her as ‘lacking administrative acumen’ while allegedly demolishing a wall of a religious place in Noida, it has a lot to explain for its ‘lack of action’ against officers indicted or even punished by courts for corruption.
The government suspended a junior officer like Durga at 1.27am, making it look like an emergency measure, but it has been very liberal to senior bureaucrats like Pradeep Shukla, an accused in the multi-thousand-crore National Rural Health Mission scam.Shukla was arrested and remained in jail for 90 days, but the SP government never issued a formal suspension order. When the media questioned its soft approach, the government clarified the officer was ‘deemed’ suspended 48 hours after being arrested. More over, senior SP minister Shivpal Yadav went to meet Shukla in jail.
Another case is in point is that of the present principal secretary, appointment, Rajiv Kumar. He was removed from the post after he was sentenced, along with former chief secretary Neera Yadav, in a Noida land scam case. But he was back in saddle right after high court stayed the sentence. Although the hearing on his petition continues and he has still not been exonerated, Kumar continues to hold the post.
Similarly, Mahesh Gupta, who is currently posted as divisional commissioner, Kanpur, didn’t face any action, despite being indicted for his role in an appointment scam. Inquires are also pending against key officers like Alok Ranjan, at present holding the charge of both agriculture production commissioner (APC) and Infrastructure and Industrial development commissioner (IIDC) and Sadakant, principal secretary, housing and information. These are just a few names. There are over 25 IAS officers facing vigilance inquires.
By suspending a junior-most IAS officer as a ‘precautionary move’ to check communal tension, the government has put itself in a bind. A senior party functionary on terms of anonymity says: “It is a situation in which retreat is difficult and advance is impossible.” This one episode has fast put the SP government on a slide in public perception. This has aggravated all that was already negative in terms of law and order and poor delivery mechanism about the government. This is why the suspension of Durga has not been taken well and there is widespread disbelief about the government’s stand, even as the CM seeks to justify it.
Reason to this is not far too seek. The promptness with which Durga was put under suspension and the way it has been defended, is perhaps a unique case. Durga has the point in favour that she is just a starter with only two and half years into the service. She did nothing overnight in Gautam Budh Nagar. She was in news for quite some time and her action was being watched.
The government had enough time to ask her to mend her ways, if at all she was going awry. And then on July 28, the government swooped on her midnight by putting her under suspension.