KOHIMA, JULY 26 (MExN): The Nagaland Civil Service Association (NCSA) has issued a statement on the post of Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in the State and said that the State Government should have discretion to post officers as it considers suitable to this important post.
A press release from the NCSA President, W Honje Konyak said that the encadrement of all DC posts in the State to the IAS “may be true on paper but it is not true in practice.” This, it stated, is not because the State Government broke any rules but because historical circumstances necessitated it.
The NCSA referred to two incidents which it said shaped bureaucracy in Nagaland. In February 1974 Zunheboto DC, KK Gupta, IAS was ambushed a few kilometres from Shoipu village , Zunheboto. He and his driver were killed. He had been the first DC of Zunheboto and ADC, Mokokchung, SB Chetri, NCS was immediately sent to replace him in Zunheboto.
In March 1995, Kohima DC, Dr LV Reddy, IAS was shot dead in Kohima town. A dynamic and much appreciated officer, he had been the 24th DC of Kohima. ADC Kohima, Visutha Angami, NCS was given charge of DC Kohima for a few months till M ZHASA, NCS was posted as Deputy Commissioner.
These two tragic incidents, the NCSA said ushered in an era of “suitcase bureaucrats,” in the State, meaning “IAS officers posted to the State that would leave on any pretext they could find.”
“Some applied for leave and extended their leave for years. Those that could, applied for deputation and some managed to stay away on deputation without ever coming back to serve in the State. Many officers have changed their cadre altogether. Some were so reluctant to serve in Nagaland that they just disappeared for years on end without any explanation,” the NCSA stated.
The NCSA said that fresh on the heels of the assassination of DC Kohima in 1995, many IAS (RR) officers left their stations. It expressed concern that the State has seen “officers disappearing during emergencies even during the present COVID-19 pandemic.” Even now, the association said there are “as many as 10 IAS officers who are out of station on leave or simply absent.”
It stated that when the IAS officers “availed their legal or illegal options to stay away from the State fearing for their lives and personal security,” the NCS officers were sent in their place as Deputy Commissioners.
Despite the Department of Personnel and Training notifications, the NCSA said that NCS officers have occupied the DC posts in the State from as early as 1973 when I Imkongmar Aier was posted as DC Phek. It further enclosed a list of Deputy Commissioners in all 11 districts of the State.
“Even a cursory glance will show that the State Government has always posted officers to these posts on its prerogative,” the association stated. It added that where other States have District Collectors/District Magistrates Nagaland has Deputy Commissioners, and the judiciary and executive are not completely separate. DCs are charged with the dispensation of justice on customs and traditions with the assistance of the Dobashi Courts.
The association said that with the situation in Nagaland improving, “many IAS officers are eager to serve as DCs in the Districts.” “However, as this recent history has shown us, they are still not willing to serve in the State during emergencies or otherwise,” it rued.
The NCSA informed that the IAS cadre in the State is 94 strong, of which 33% is to be filled by the State Civil Services. So at any given point of time there ought to be 63 IAS (RR) officers in the State. Presently there is barely half that number even counting those on leave because many are away on deputation and continue to extend and overstay their deputation period, the association said.
“Even as recently as the 2013 General elections, the ECI directed that all DCs in the state be IAS officers but there were not enough eligible officers. Perhaps, the era of the reluctant suitcase bureaucrat is not yet over in Nagaland,” it stated.
“Doesn’t our State deserve more than a reluctant suitcase bureaucrats?” the NCSA questioned.
“It is difficult to accept that officers who are unwilling or unable to be in station even during emergencies will be present and functioning during peaceful times,” it said. The NCSA pointed out that the structure of the NCS has changed with the changes in the State and member officers have been “moulded in the unique historical circumstances of the State.”
The article has been updated to correct a factual error. In a Corrigendum issued by its President, the Nagaland Civil Service Association stated that the “1974 incident referred to in the statement occurred a few kilometres from Shoipu village and not as stated. The error is regretted.”
