This one is very literally about the corridors of power. Rather, about the powerless (read non- neta s) in the corridors of power.
The employees of the State secretariat recently got a circular warning them against wasting office time by talking on the phone or walking in the corridors. The circular says that employees have been warned against it, but the menace continues disrupting work flow. “Officials and employees are directed to imbibe discipline and cooperate for the smooth functioning of the office. Action will be taken against those who fail to do so,” states the order.
While that is fair enough, the puzzling thing about the circular is that it appears to ascribe different behavioural patterns for men and women. It warns men against gathering in groups and talking loudly on the phone, while women are warned against “walking unnecessarily” in the corridors.
Now, anyone who has ever been to the Vidhana Soudha could not have failed to notice more men than women strolling around, while there is no dearth of women screaming away on phones.
Women SPs
in Lokayukta
Unlike the past, four women Superintendents of Police have been posted to the Karnataka Lokayukta. Among the five SPs, the administrative SP, who manages the Lokayukta police wing, is also a woman. M. Ashwini, Sonia Narang, K.P. Anjali, and Seema Latkar are the SPs posted to the Lokayukta. Perhaps, for the first time, the Lokayukta headed by Justice Y. Bhaskar Rao has a whopping majority of SPs who are women. Officials in the State secretariat argued that public perceive that women are more sincere, committed to work, and honest in their approach. Selection and postings to the Lokayukta are done in a vigilant manner. The government submits a list of names to the Lokayukta for prior approval. If rejected, a fresh list is sent. Sources in the Lokayukta pointed out that there was no political influence and money power involved in postings. Integrity and seniority of the official is the key to the selection process.
In fact, names of many male officers were rejected before Ms. Narang was selected as the Bengaluru SP. All four SPs are given significant responsibilities and they have been handling it efficiently so far, sources say.
Ballari ZP’s ‘U’ turn
A couple of months ago, the general body of the Ballari Zilla Panchayat expressed concern when B. Anitha, president, informed that the foodgrain supplied to anganwadis was of substandard quality. After a thorough discussion, the ZP decided to hand over the case to the Lokayukta, by adopting a resolution. The ZP was firm in its decision and turned down the Chief Executive Officer’s suggestion to constitute a house committee to inquire into the matter and get a report before referring the issue to the Lokayukta.
Now, the ZP president has done a turnaround and decided to keep on hold the decision for Lokayukta inquiry. That leaves one wondering what the real motive behind the U-turn is.
Plea for ordinance
Even as the Congress has dubbed Modi Government as “ordinance raj”, a party MLA in Karnataka has sought promulgation of an ordinance for early establishment of Bangalore North University (BNU) campus in Chickballapur district. Defending the State Cabinet’s decision to split Bangalore University (BU) into three, former Speaker and MLA K.R. Ramesh Kumar demanded setting up the BNU campus at the earliest and its functioning from this academic year (2015-16) itself.
BU has over 600 colleges spread over five districts. Location of the BU campus in the city has caused a lot of inconvenience for students of Kolar and Chickballapur districts. The new BNU will cover 11 Assembly constituencies in Kolar and Chickballapur districts and eight Assembly segments in Bengaluru urban and rural districts. Till the acquisition of lands for the new varsity, the Post Graduate Centre in Kolar will be the campus for BNU.
Mr. Kumar, who was unhappy over the denial of Cabinet berth, argues that splitting BU will serve no purpose if there was delay in starting the BNU. Now, he has decided to take a delegation of legislators to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and press for promulgation of the ordinance to set up the new university. With the State legislature’s session to be held in July, the ordinance is the only route to make the BNU to start functioning from this academic year, Mr. Kumar argued.
Bageshree S.,
Nagesh Prabhu,
M. Ahiraj, and
Vishwa Kundapura
