Transfers common to IAS officers, says GK Pillai at book launch

Former Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai threw some light on the transfer of civil servants by local politicians for not kowtowing to their whims, saying “it is common to every IAS officer in the states, and is a factor that affects their “fixity of tenure”.”

Speaking during launch of the book My Tryst With Manipur by Jarnail Singh, former Chief Secretary of Manipur, Pillai who had worked together with the former for many years, said that Singh has mentioned in his book how he was transferred out of Ukhrul district “as he did not oblige the local politician”. The book is published by Konark Publishers.

“This is something common to everyone in the IAS; you go to Kerala, go to any other state; It happens all the time. When local politicians are not able to influence the powers that be and get you shifted out; This is something that happens all the time. And this is something which you really need to understand; we’ve not been able to find in one sense a situation where a civil servant has a fixity of tenure,” said Pillai, at the event held at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Singh, who spent 23 years in Manipur, first as Sub Divisional Officer and later as Chief Secretary, recounted how he visited every village in the state, even in far-flung areas, to find out what the problems were, and how he tackled developmental issues in the northeastern state, from drinking water, to roads and electricity and health. In the book, Singh has documented his work in Manipur, from tours on foot in the interior hill areas, taking initiative to secure about 8,900 sq km area of the so-called ‘liberated area’ by the militants in 2004, improving the law and order situation, strengthening the bureaucracy, streamlining pension payments, and bringing about the Manipur Public Servants’ Personal Liability Act 2006, which improved the public administration of the state.