The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Karnataka faces a shortage of IAS officers

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Monday, Sep 24, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Karnataka faces a shortage of IAS officers

Special Correspondent

The number is expected to grow
to 25 by 2009
IPS and IFS cadres also face a similar problem

BANGALORE: The Chief Secretary to the Government, Prahalad B. Mahishi, on Saturday said that the State Government was facing a shortage of direct recruits to the Indian Administrative Service officers, who could be posted as deputy commissioners of the districts and chief executive officers of the zilla panchayats.

Briefing reporters about the proceedings of a high level meeting of top bureaucrats of the State on cadre management, Mr. Mahishi said that there was a shortage of 16 officers, and that it could not be made good immediately.

Review

He expected the situation to continue until 2009, when the Union Ministry of Personnel was expected to review the cadre strength of each state. By that time, the State would have a shortage of around 25 direct recruit IAS officers. The process of lobbying for getting more officers should begin now, he said. The State was also facing a similar problem in the IPS and IFS cadres.

Asked how many officers were working on deputation in the Union Ministries, he said out of the State quota of 46 IAS officers, 38 were working in various departments of the Union Government. In the IPS cadres of 170 officers, around five were on central deputation, which was meagre, compared to the State quota of 25.

Explaining the low representation of officers from the State cadre in the Union Government, Mr. Mahishi said that it could be because there were very few ministers from the State heading important portfolios. All of them were of the rank of Ministers of State.

Well-managed

He said that there were at least seven out of eight IAS officers from Uttar Pradesh in the Union Finance Ministry, when N.D. Tiwari was the Union Finance Minister. While admitting that the State would have benefited had there been more officers in important ministries, he said that Karnataka, being a well-managed State, was always encouraged by most of the central programmes, unlike some north Indian states.

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