BAD BLOOD

Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: There is always uneasiness of some sort or the other between the officers belonging to the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS).
A latest order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, making IAS officers eligible for promotion to supertime scale in 14 years of service has left the IPS officers sulking. And, the order has also caused fresh acrimony between the two All-India Service wings that are very crucial in the administrative set up.
The DoPT order issued early this month, it is being argued, gives undue advantage to the IAS officers and enlarges the gulf between the two services. Hitherto, IAS officers got elevated to the supertime scale after putting in 16 years of service while IPS officers got such promotion only after 18 years. Moreover, IAS men used to get the promotion upon entering the 16th year of service whereas the IPS officers were promoted only at the end of the 18th year. This way, a three-year gap in seniority was created between IAS and IPS officers of the same batch.
For example, IAS officers of the 1989 batch were promoted to the supertime scale on January 15, 2005 but the IPS men of the same batch were still waiting for their promotion. Now, with the Government of India cutting down the number of years of service from 16 to 14, IAS officers will rise much higher in ranks than their IPS counterparts, a senior bureaucrat analysed.
"The latest DoPT order makes even our own batchmates in the IAS four years senior to us straightaway. But in effect, they become five years senior to us as the state government has been delaying our promotions," a senior IPS officer pointed out.
For the IAS babus, getting into supertime scale actually makes little difference as they continue to be in the Secretary rank. But, for the IPS men it means a lot as they not only get some monetary benefit but also a change in the rank. "A rise in rank from say Deputy Inspector General to Inspector General of Police carries greater significance for us. Besides, it's also a question of boosting one's motivational levels," observed a top IPS officer who, incidentally, is now on the disadvantaged side.
The state government, on its part, too is leaving the IPS men high and dry over the matters of promotion. While IPS officers in other states, including Orissa, were promoted to the supertime scale, those eligible here have been eagerly awaiting the day for the past one year. Officials admit this factor was certainly having a bearing on the performance levels of the IPS officers and many are said to be planning to move out of the state.