After breaking ties with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) again to form the new government in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar apparently suffered a major dent to his political image.
However, in the past week, he has been on an overdrive to re-establish his core plank of better governance by taking major decisions and effecting mass transfers of bureaucrats.
Mr. Kumar is also holding review meetings of several departments every day.
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Mr. Kumar has effected a major reshuffle in the State’s bureaucracy and its police by transferring 28 Indian Administrative Service and 42 Indian Police Service officers. Officials of the rank of District Magistrates in six districts and 13 Superintendents of Police were transferred in the reshuffle.
Action on mining racket
Tough and upright IAS officer K.K. Pathak, widely known as an architect of the strict prohibition laws in the State, has been given additional charge as Principal Secretary of the Department of Mines and Geology, to launch a crackdown on the illegal sand mining racket, in which several RJD leaders are said to be involved.
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But Mr. Pathak, apparently peeved with the manner in which he had to quit the Excise and Prohibition Department in September 2016, has expressed his inability to join his new post.
‘Good governance tag’
JD(U) leaders told The Hindu that the transfers of these officials were long overdue, and after breaking ties with the previous ‘Grand Alliance’ (mahagathbandhan) government, Mr. Kumar had transferred them out for strengthening the “good governance”.
However, Opposition RJD leaders charged that officials of a particular caste were targeted and some bureaucrats, who are considered close to Mr. Kumar, were brought in to “dig out something to target our party leaders, who were earlier Ministers in the Cabinet”.