A sad story of Bureaucrats and Politicians

The anti PMO office affidavit filed by Maharshtra government is producing bureaucratic stresses and strains now, as per this Times of India report from Prafulla Marpakwar ITNN
Vidarbha Package is fast becoming an orphan that nobody wants to keep. It is becoming too hot for politicians and bureaucrats to handle and the blame game has started in earnest, while the Sensex Minister and Cricket Minister take a nap.
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Anti-PMO affidavit : Joint Secy goes on leave - by Prafulla Marpakwar I TNN

Please click on the following link to read the TOI news item :
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=TkdUT0kvMjAwNy8wNS8wOCNBcjAwNDAw&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

Email : prafulla .marpakwar@ timesgroup.com
Mumbai \ Nagpur : A day after Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh approved a proposal to conduct a departmental inquiry against Pravin Srivastava for filing an affidavit against the PMO, the Joint Secretary (Relief and Rehabilitation) has proceeded on long leave to participate in a 'vipasyana' camp.
Though Srivastava, an Indian Forest Service (IFS) official, was not available for comment, his office confirmed that he had proceeded on leave to participate in a meditation camp. Significantly, a section of Mantralaya officials expressed the view that Srivastava was being made a scapegoat.
Following a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a New Delhi-based lawyer over the failure of more than half a dozen states, including Maharashtra, to tackle the agrarian crisis, the apex court had asked the state chief secretary to file a comprehensive affidavit on the steps taken by the state government, particularly to tackle the farmers' suicides in Vidarbha.
In its affidavit, besides submitting adequate information on the relief measures taken by the state, the government also blamed the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for delay in releasing the promised financial assistance. It also mentioned that since there was delay on the part of the PMO in providing the funds for PM's special package for Vidarbha, the state government had to make alternate arrangements for the purpose.
The PMO was so irked by the affidavit that it not only ordered a probe into it, but also asked sleuths from the Intelligence Bureau to obtain information from the relief and rehabilitation department regarding the financial assistance provided to farmers from the Vidarbha region, which the Prime Minister had personally visited.
Deshmukh and the then chief secretary D K Sankaran also took note of the anti-PMO affidavit. While they submitted a clarification to the PMO, an internal probe was also initiated to find out how such an affidavit had been filed, since it had the approval of relief and rehabilitation secretary B P Pandey and Sankaran. In fact, the anti-PMO affidavit proved costly for Sankaran, who could not get an extension after his retirement on April 30.
An internal probe revealed that the affidavit was drafted by Srivastava and later approved by Pandey and Sankaran. However, before filing the affidavit in the apex court, Srivastava had made drastic changes to it, but had not shown the same to Pandey and Sankaran. Apparently, when Pandey took Srivastava to task for exceeding his brief, Srivastava tendered an unconditional apology.
On the basis of Srivastava's apology, Pandey moved a proposal for his departmental probe, which was approved by the new chief secretary, Johny Joseph, and Deshmukh. Significantly, the proposal has been approved a day before PMO principal secretary T K K Nair has convened a special meeting to review the PM's package for Vidarbha.
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