Reporter's Diary: A reshuffle that satisfied bureaucrats & ministers

CHENNAI: The recent bureaucratic reshuffle might have seemed strange in the eye of the public, but many in Fort St George have heaved a sigh of relief. Audible murmurs were heard on the corridors of the power that a good number of babus had celebrated the transfers, especially the replacement of the Home Secretary.

Even weeks before the government ordered the transfers, IAS officers were privately criticising their current political masters for persevering with the now-former Home Secretary. Unsurprisingly, they were speculating a few probable names to take his place.

Rumour mills spun overtime about hectic parleying between ‘native’ and non-native officers to secure the coveted home office, which was finally bagged by a Tamil Nadu cadre officer from neighbouring Andhra. However, there was largely no disagreement over the shuffle at the helm of the State Health Department.

A couple of babus did not mind admitting privately that the special officer who has been elevated as Health Secretary had sufficiently impressed the government. The reshuffle, however, satisfied a few ministers who submitted a wish list of babus to their top leadership for their departments.

Curiously, the present regime is not the first to end the long stint of a few babus. The previous AIADMK regime had faced criticism for retaining the PWD Secretary in the same department for several years.

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