Karnataka - Bangalore   

Is Chief Secretary Mahishi being replaced?

Bangalore: Officers of the Indian Administrative Service in the State are shaken with reports that Chief Secretary P.B. Mahishi may be given short shrift following the change of government and the imposition of President’s Rule.

Never in the history of the State has a Chief Secretary been removed following a change of government, unlike what it is normally witnessed in some of the northern States, nor has a Chief Secretary been replaced during President’s Rule.

There have only been three instances of a Chief Secretary being replaced prior to his superannuation — J. Alexander in 1992 when he superseded seven seniors following the preference of then Chief Minister S. Bangarappa; Shankaranarayanan in 1991-92 (on charges that he reportedly spoke against the then government) and K.S.N. Murthy in 1991 (on charges of what was termed as bad conduct).

Mr. Mahishi, a no nonsense bureaucrat with an unblemished record (as per his confidential records), took charge as Chief Secretary on January 1, 2007.

He is scheduled to retire on March 31, 2009, and his appointment was approved by the H.D. Kumaraswamy Cabinet.

What has given credence to the fear of the senior IAS officers in the State that Mr. Mahishi would be replaced were the reports that the Governor Rameshwar Thakur had sought the concurrence of the Union Cabinet Secretary to change the Chief Secretary.

In the normal course, the appointment of a Chief Secretary has to be approved by the State Cabinet and during President’s Rule it has to be ratified by the Executive Committee, presided over by the Governor.

However, there is also the rule that during President’s Rule, the Governor has to obtain the concurrence of the Union Government to change the Chief Secretary.

A senior IAS official told The Hindu that “giving short shrift” to the incumbent Chief Secretary had been contemplated since an Additional Chief Secretary (Sudhakar Rao of the 1973 batch) had been keen on taking charge as Chief Secretary although he is in the fifth position in the seniority list.

It is said that as Mr. Sudhakar Rao had not been empanelled by the Centre, his elevation as Chief Secretary could enable him to the post of a Secretary to the Government of India.

Mr. Sudhakar Rao is the husband of Nirupama Rao, who is India’s Ambassador to China.

For most part of his career, Mr. Sudhakar Rao, though of the Karnataka cadre, has served outside the State.

Mr. Sudhakar Rao has been here only for the last few years.

Along with Mr. Mahishi, who belongs to the 1972 batch of the IAS, is Neeraja Rajkumar and Dilip Rau.

While Ms. Neeraja Rajkumar is a full-fledged additional Chief Secretary, Mr. Dilip Rau is Additional Chief Secretary and Administrator, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, and chairman of the Bangalore Development Authority.

Another officer of the 1972 batch is Falguni Rajkumar.

There are four officers in the 1973 batch in the following order of seniority — Usha Ganesh, Additional Chief Secretary and Managing Director, Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam; Mr. Sudhakar Rao, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner; Vatsala Watsa, Additional Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, Home; and Brahm Dutt, who is serving in the Union Government.

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