NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Rediff Shopping

Shop & gift from thousands of products!   Books     Music       Apparel   Jewellery   Flowers   More..      Safe Shopping

IAS officers may resist shift to Uttaranchal

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

Officers of the Indian Administrative Service Uttar Pradesh cadre last week unanimously resolved to oppose any move to force anyone to move to the new hill state of Uttaranchal.

"We will urge the Union government to seek options," said UP IAS Association secretary Haminder Raj Singh after the annual general meeting of the 558-member cadre in Lucknow.

The meeting resolved to initially seek options from officers at the association level, so that a clear picture is available about the number inclined to opt for the new hill state. "In case the number of those opting for Uttaranchal is insufficient, the association has resolved to urge the Centre to take officers on deputation for a fixed period, when the state will be able to build up its own cadre," Singh told rediff.com.

He said, "The idea is to ensure that only willing officers go to the new state." The officers felt that the UP hills had suffered for 50 years largely because people had been posted there against their wishes. "That was one reason for the backwardness and underdevelopment of the region," a senior government secretary remarked.

He felt that sending unwilling persons was neither in the interest of the new state nor the parent state.

It was felt that since not many officers belonging to the hills were in the IAS UP cadre, and not many non-hill residents were likely to opt for a posting there, an incentive in the form of accelerated promotions, could be offered.

"When Himachal Pradesh was formed, officers from erstwhile Punjab were offered huge plots of land as an incentive," said another senior officer.

The association said the Union government had promised to consider their suggestions before deciding on the UP cadres' division.

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report