SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked up Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Amit Khare as his advisor, it must have shocked Jharkhand’s former Chief Minister Raghubar Das, who did not appoint him as the Chief Secretary after the superannuation of ‘controversial’ Rajbala Verma in February 2018.
Khare, who always believed in calling a spade a spade, had been brought back from the central deputation for a ‘crucial role’ by the state government when the NDA Government under Das took shape in Jharkhand in 2014.
He was also one of the top contenders for the post of Chief Secretary of the State after the superannuation of former CS Rajbala Verma.
Das is said to have changed his decision last minute under the pressure of the ‘syndicate’ which ruled the roost at that time and appointed Khare’s batchmate Sudhir Tripathy in his place. The former chief minister’s decision must have disappointed Khare who went on central deputation soon thereafter.
Ironically, Das had assured Khare of appointing him as the Chief Secretary and thus delayed his decision for going on the central deputation. But when the D-day came, he was informed that the Chief Minister had chosen Sudhir Tripathy to succeed Rajbala Verma. According to a grapevine, Das also dangled a carrot in front of Khare saying he will do ‘pairvee’ for him to get a suitable posting at the Centre!
“Khare’s impeccable service record and honesty did not suit ex-Chief Minister Raghubar Das,” says a retired officer. “Das feared that Khare might unearth the acts of corruption of his close associates and so ignored him,” he added.
He further says that officers with impeccable service records do not suit the politicians of Jharkhand but the PM has this art of selecting the correct man at the correct time. No wonder, several Jharkhand IAS officers, ignored in the State, are holding key posts at the Centre.
Khare is credited with unearthing the infamous fodder scam involving former Bihar Chief Ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Jagannath Mishra way back in 1996 when he was the Deputy Commissioner of Chaibasa district.
National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval had applauded Khare after the CBI court convicted Lalu Prasad and others in one of the fodder scam cases saying, “We always hear a story of a corrupt officer who licks politicians’ boot. Know about Amit Khare, IAS, who revealed Lalu’s fodder scam. Great man, India salutes an officer like you. Kudos”
As the Union Higher Education Secretary, Khare helped shape the new National Education Policy (NEP). Khare also served as the Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary between May 2018 and December 2019.He also played a role in formulating the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The IT rules regulate social media companies, streaming and digital news content, virtually bringing them, for the first time, under the ambit of government supervision.
But then, Jharkhand has a record of not respecting the honest and efficient officers and forcing them to go on central deputation ever since it became a separate state. On the other hand, officers with tainted service records always found favours with the ruling dispensation. There are only a few officers with good service records who have been allowed to hold key posts in Jharkhand.
It all started soon after the creation of Jharkhand that a turf war began between the ministers and bureaucrats. The then Urban Development Minister Bachcha Singh had declared himself as the Chairman of Ranchi Regional Development Authority (RRDA). An official recalls that his men snatched away a file from a state secretariat staff who was on his way to deliver an order appointing BJP leader Nirbhay Kumar Singh as the chairman. The minister overruled Nirbhay Singh’s appointment and anointed himself.
Excise Minister Ramesh Munda got D.K. Tiwary removed as Secretary in his department. Tiwary’s fault was that he had opposed his boss’s “whimsical and illegal” order to officially allow the sale of country liquor in open drums instead of the regulation-sealed pouches.
Then, there was a tussle between the then IT Secretary R S Sharma and Minister Chandra Prakash Chaudhary over payment to a contractor. Having faced opposition from Sharma, Chaudhary is said to have written in the file that Sharma was not fit to be the Secretary of his department. Sharma later went to become the Managing Director of UIDAI. The central government has appointed Sharma as the Chairperson of an empowered committee for administration of Covid-19 vaccine.
The story did not end here. There are a huge number of stories in Jharkhand as how the honest officers were sidelined and the corrupt ones held key posts.
So, the Prime Minister’s decision should motivate Khare’s colleagues to put in their best during their career. Hope Khare proves to be an asset in the Prime Minister’s office (PMO).