This refers to Sanjeev Ahluwalia's article "Protecting babus from politicians" (November 5). According to the author, only 3 per cent (17.5 million) of our labour force is employed in the government compared with OECD countries that have a better representation of population in public service. In a thickly populated country such as India, 17.5 million is a large number, and if public accountability is created for all of them, then a high level of visible efficiency is possible.
Offering fixed tenures to civil servants is a welcome step but introducing quantified appraisals for these gullible bureaucrats is equally critical. The recent riots in Muzaffarnagar demonstrated once again the complete failure of the district administration. Will the people of Muzaffarnagar ever get a chance to review a failed district magistrate?
Quantified appraisals for civil servants is the only way to introduce efficiency in the system of public administration. Though the apex court has taken the first step of protecting civil servants from politicians, it now needs to advise on building a credible and transparent appraisal system, so that merit gets a better chance than submission and sycophancy.
Ashim Sanyal Kolkata
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