50% posts empty despite major reshuffles in Raj bureaucracy

Jaipur: Despite the jumbo transfer lists of IAS and RAS officers, 10 posts of members in the Board of Revenue remained vacant. In the IAS transfer list that came suddenly on Saturday, only one member, Mahendra Soni, has been given posting in the Board. Still, 3 out of the quota of 5 members of IAS and 5 out of the quota of 10 members of RAS officers remain vacant in the board. Both the posts of Advocate quota are also lying vacant. In this way, against the strength of 20 members, only 10 members are working in the board and 10 posts, 50 percent, are lying vacant.

The reality is that no IAS or RAS officer wants to go to the Revenue Board. Apart from Mahendra Soni, another IAS member Ram Dayal Meena is posted there. Ram Dayal Meera has been working there since January 2021

Both the present IAS members – Ram Dayal Meera and Mahendra Soni are promotee IAS officers. In the past too, most of the time, the promotee officers have been IAS members.It is not a hidden fact that a direct recruit IAS officer does not want to go to the Board of Revenue. Even if the government sends them, they return back within a few months. One such example is that of Manju Rajpal (2000 batch IAS officer). She went to Ajmer in September 2021 and returned to Jaipur only after 7 months in April 2022. The same applies in the case of RAS officers also. About 500 RAS officers have been reshuffled in the new government but 5 vacant posts in the Revenue Board could not be filled. The RAS officers, if posted in the board, are given special financial benefits but despite that no RAS officer is ready to go there.

The problem is that IAS or RAS officers consider the posting of Revenue Board member in Ajmer as marginal and punitive posting. Further, the way the image of Revenue Board has been tarnished due to the ACB raids in the previous Ashok Gehlot government when senior IAS officer R. Venkateshwaran was the chairman, the officers have even started fearing going there.

However, after taking over as Chairman of the Board in August 2021, Rajeshwar Singh has made tireless efforts to improve the image and direction of the Board. The situation has also improved. But the situation of vacant posts of members remains as bad even today.

On the other hand, the advocate appearing in the Board has filed a writ in the High Court that RAS officers should not be made members in the Board because it is not appropriate for them to hear the appeals against the decisions of Collectors and DCs.

Current Chairman Rajeshwar Singh will also retire after four months in July. He has given stability to the work of the board despite the shortage of members. The government will also have to search for his successor.