Posts on offer

Power engineers are set to lose the post of CMD of PSPCL to the IAS lobby. When the Punjab State Electricity Board was split, they were agitated over the unbundling but were pacified with the assurance that the top posts in the new utilities would stay with them. No matter how competent, engineers can hardly match IAS officers with life-time experience and expertise of being on the right side of politicians. Henceforth, the CMD post, it is reported, will remain with the IAS. Technical qualifications of an IAS officer cannot equal a technocrat having long hands-on field experience.

There is much that is wrong in Punjab’s power sector but the Amarinder Singh government has taken on priority the task of replacing the previous Akali Dal-BJP government favourite at the helm of PSPCL with an officer of personal choice. For that the rules are being rewritten. In this respect not much seems to have changed. The Badal regime had gone out of the way to keep KD Chaudhri on the job. Merit does not matter when loyalty is involved. With an IAS officer as CMD and a retired IAS hand as the regulator it would be business as usual on the power front. None would question frequent tariff hikes to cover up inefficiency or pilferage, the growing mountain of debt on PSPCL, non-recovery of dues from government departments, delays in subsidy payments or slow implementation of the Centre’s UDAY scheme. The IAS biradari is most comfortable in the maintenance of the status quo — unless the political class sends out signals to the contrary.

Politicians rewarding loyalists is a countrywide phenomenon but in Punjab it extends to the creation of unnecessary posts that carry ministerial status and burden the depleted treasury. Rules are being tweaked to accommodate candidates of choice. The proposal to revive posts of Chief Parliamentary Secretary mocks the high court ruling on the issue. It is amusing to see former CM Badal and present CM Amarinder Singh quibbling over who has created more posts. Both have experience in buying loyalty and keeping political peace at the state expense.