GUWAHATI, July 31 - Guess what is causing the exodus of bureaucrats from Assam and other Northeastern States in an alarming manner?�
It is their longing to stay with their better halves posted outside the region!
Although it may sound unrealistic, records available suggest that nearly 80 per cent of the total transfers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers from the Assam-Meghalaya and other Northeast cadres were allowed on the ground of marriage in the last one decade or so.
Such transfers were allowed on the strength of an enshrined clause in the service rule (UPSC), which stipulates that an IAS officer can secure transfer to a different cadre to stay with his or her spouse, provided the latter is an All India Service officer.��
However, the high percentage of such transfers has left the government in a tizzy, considering the dearth of IAS officials the region is already facing.
Of the 174 IAS officers who were recruited in Assam-Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur-Tripura and Sikkim cadres in the last 11 years, 42 of them left the region permanently, securing transfer within a few years from the date of their posting.
Surprisingly, of the total 42 transfers allowed from the region, 33 were allowed transfer on the ground of marriage.
Of the remaining nine, eight such officials of NE cadres were allowed transfer on the ground of poor health condition, while one was given the nod based on the threat perception he was facing.
In Assam, five out of the nine transfers since 2006 were
allowed on the ground of marriage. In Sikkim, the percentage of those seeking transfer citing marriage as the ground is 100 per cent.
The scenario in Nagaland (9 out of 10) and Manipur-Tripura (12 out of 16) is also more or less the same.
A senior IAS official, while requesting anonymity, told this reporter that most of the matrimonial alliances start taking shape during the IAS training period itself where they get to know each other.
�The scenario is identical in most parts of the country. However, for States like Assam, it becomes more detrimental keeping in view the shortage of IAS and IPS officers,� he pointed out.
�Central deputation of the IAS officers from the States aggravates the problem further,� he added.
