Retired hurt, or any other plan?

HYDERABAD CONFIDENTIAL

Retired hurt, or any other plan?

06.09.2021

Ever wondered what happens to the various IPS and IAS officers who retire? The government has appointed several retired babus as advisors in the past seven years, but their services are never utilised once they bid adieu after superannuation. Case in point is retired chief secretary SK Joshi, who was appointed as an advisor (irrigation), but he is conspicuous by his absence in official meetings, especially the crucial KRMB and water-sharing meetings. There are more such instances, so will the ‘advisors’ be dropped for good in future?

Top cop’s job up for grabs?

After VC Sajjanar’s sudden transfer from the high-profile job of Cyberabad top cop, our sources say that more changes are on the cards. Once a favourite poster boy of officialdom, former Cyberabad commissioner CV Anand, who is currently on deputation to the central forces, may get a shot at the Hyderabad police chief’s post. Another IPS officer, Vijaykumar, has reportedly come back to the state after completing his deputation and is waiting for a top posting. It remains to be seen as to who makes it to the top seat in the police department soon if changes do happen.

Any takers for collector’s job?

Is the Medchal collector’s post jinxed? So, it seems that as the government recently shifted and posted collectors for eight districts, Medchal still doesn’t have a full-time collector. Presently, Medak collector S Hareesh is in-charge of Medchal and Preeti Mohanty has also acted as incharge collector for Medchal. Is finding a collector for the crucial Medchal district so tough or the government has other plans?

Two power centres

Is it a case of not putting eggs in one basket? It seems there are two power centres in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). While DS Lokesh Kumar is technically head of the GHMC, there is another power centre at Buddha Bhavan, where GHMC’s enforcement wing boss Vishwajit Kampati operates. While a little birdie says there are rumours that the enforcement wing chief and the GHMC commissioner have some differences in opinion, GHMC sources say the enforcement wing chief is hardly seen in the corridors of power. Vishwajit, who was superintendent of Rajanna-Sircilla district, was literally handpicked by KTR and brought to GHMC.

Karvy trivia

Here is a little trivia for all of you. Did you know that among the more than one lakh victims of Karvy stock broking scam, there are several IAS and IPS officials from the Telugu states? Despite trading and investing in stocks, our sources say they have not come forward and complained. Many All India Service officers and senior babus, who are clients of Karvy, have lost huge amounts of money, but the question is, will they file a complaint? Only time will tell.

No takers for this one

The Telangana Civil Supplies Corporation has been headed by a retired IAS officer V Anil Kumar for over a year now. The talk in the corridors of power is that not many regular IAS officers are keen on occupying the post of the commissioner of civil supplies as it is considered a hot seat. The incumbent is always under the direct supervision of the chief secretary and the chief minister given the fact that paddy procurement is crucial to keep the farmers happy. The flip side, sources say, is the strong nexus between some of the officials of the corporation and the rice millers, and breaking it is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Tailpiece: Neta and Abhineta

If politicians are what they are, actors are proving to be on a par with them in playing political games or are even better on the political turf during elections. Elections to the Movie Artistes Association (MAA) are to be held in October and national award-winning actor Prakash Raj is vying to become president and is calling the right shots. Two other actors, Jeevitha Rajasekhar and Hema, are also known to be in the fray for the top post, but they are now in Prakash Raj’s panel. While Hema is contesting for the post of vice-president, Jeevitha will be fielded for the post of general secretary. With two of the most vociferous women in his panel now, Prakash Raj hopes to make all the right kind of noises in the run-up to the polls.