Bhattacharjee concerned over lack of IAS cadres

Kolkata, Jul 13 (UNI) West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today expressed serious concern that state's meritorious students are not opting for Indian Administrative Service (IAS) resulting in the severe shortage under the state's cadre.

Replying to querries of Congress Chief Whip Manas Bhuiya and several supplementary questions in the West bengal assembly, the Chief Minister said, ''As a result of these shortages even the posts of district magistrates are being filled up by the WBCS cadres.'' He said at present the posts of district magistrates of South Dinajpur and Purulia districts were presently being filled up by the WBCS officers, who are alos manning the posts of 13 special secretaries, 137 joint-secretaries and 167 deputy secretaries.

But we have no plan to fill up the post of secretaries with teh WBCS officers, the Chief Minsiter clarified to a supplementary querry of Dr Bhuiya.

Replying to a supplementary question from Trinamool Congress members Sadhan Pandey, the Chief Minister ruled out the possibility of filling up any other posts of district magistrates by the WBCS officers.

''There are some posts which are strictly reserved for the IAS officers alone and because of their qualitative superiority these posts cannot be filled up with WBCS cadres,'' Mr Bhattacharjee clarified.

Replying to another querry, the Chief Minsiter, who also holds the port folio of personnel and adminsitrative reforms, said that, ''At present against the 1767 posts of WBCS executive cadres, the state had only 1662 such officers, who had been doing yoeman's job in tehir respective position.'' At present about 99 WBCS cadres were working as trainees in different departments, the chief minister said and denied the government plan to revive the IAS training school in the city.

UNI ABA BA RD VA RN1242