Welcoming the appointment of PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan as Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu, we codified, documented expressed the hope of this articulate expert familiar with global practices and experience would fill in the vacuum – the absence of an effective voice from the Tamil Nadu government in national fora for close to five decades. Chief ministers, other ministers and senior bureaucrats have not been widely participating in national conferences, especially meetings in Delhi.
Whether these related to national television programmes or conferences of industry apex bodies like CII, ASSOCHAM and FICCI or in major media events, Tamil Nadu had been mostly unrepresented. PTR is making well-articulated presentations at national TV networks, CIC, IIM-B and other fora.
At a recent meeting at IIM-B, PTR pointed to the lack of continuity in top level of administration. This arises from the changes in the ministerial incumbents and senior bureaucrats. The limited tenure of the civil servants in a particular department results in lack of information on the activities and practices of the department as also lack of data said PTR. The diagnosis is brilliant. But the problem lies in an elusive remedy.
In modern democracies continuity of policies and practices are ensured by the permanent nature of civil service. There was the belief that the civil servant is apolitical; thus for long one did not witness much change in the top incumbents with a change in political party assuming power. In Tamil Nadu this underwent change from the time M Karunanidhi assumed charge as chief minister in 1969.
The earlier norms on appointment of the chief secretary on seniority changed. Thus, over the years one witnesses wholesale transfers of top civil servants right from chief secretary to secretaries of various departments. Luckily Chief Minister Stalin left a few sensitive top posts in a few departments of finance, industry, healthcare… unchanged.
We do hope PTR’s concerns would be reflected in these areas as well.
