The Indian bureaucracy, fashioned on the lines of the well-oiled British governance systems, has its inherent strengths. The ‘best brains’ are believed to be recruited and inducted into the apex of the administrative system. First home minister Vallabhbhai Patel rightly called IAS the ‘steel frame’ of the government – which, of course, is bossed over by the political class. Though these officers owe their allegiance to the central government, they are split into various state cadres. Periodic changes have been introduced in their service rules – and the latest such is bound to raise a row. It would, from now on, be solely for the central government to decide on punitive steps – like withholding or withdrawal of the retirement benefits – vis-a-vis IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service officials, though they all serve for and report to state governments. The previous practice of taking such decisions on the basis of confidential reports (CR) given by the respective state government has been done away with. This would mean that the central government would exercise more control over these officers while the states’ powers are ‘reduced’. This cannot be music to the leaders who run states. Their frequent complaints have been that the Centre usurped the rights granted to them by the Constitution under the federal system.
When the Constitution was framed and India turned itself into a republic in 1950, this nation was still in its formative years. It won Independence in 1947, when several princely states wielded powers over the people. While the princely states were merged and states formed on linguistic lines, the framers of the Constitution laid stress on the federal structure of the nation. The powers of the central government have been limited in several respects. Other than for defence, national finances, aviation, railways etc, states have the freedom to govern their respective territories. The basic concept was that ‘without states, there is no Centre’. However, some 60 years later, it is time to have a re-look at the power-sharing arrangement between the states and Centre. Some regional satraps in Tamil Nadu have barred central investigation agencies like CBI and ED from operations in their states without state-permission. This could derail investigations by these agencies, be it in respect of economic offences or even in matters of terror-linked anti-national activities. Also, as in West Bengal, officers of the IAS-IPS cadre were browbeaten by state governments vis-à-vis their day-to-day functioning. These officers are predictably caught between the devil and the deep sea. It is time the Centre keeps national interests in mind and suitably modify their service rules. The scenario as it existed in 1950 and today are vastly different.