Friday, Sep 27, 2002
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Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram
By Roy Mathew
The Chief Secretary would have normally retired on September 30 on his completing 60 years of age. However, he sought voluntary retirement a day ahead of superannuation so that he could get better commutation and pensionary benefits. The Government approved his request, made in May this year, within a few days after getting clearance from the Chief Minister, A. K. Antony. (He demits office on Saturday as Sunday is a holiday). The benefits accruing to Mr. Krishnamurthy from this is only about Rs. 20,000. The `voluntary retirement', however, would have affected his leave travel concession (LTC) under `Any Place in India' Scheme for block 1998- 2001 which could be availed in 2002 prior to his retirement. The Union Government had suspended LTC for IAS officers in March 2001. Though officers who will be retiring by February 28, 2003, were exempted from this, the Government had clarified that Government servants who seek voluntary retirement were not eligible for this exemption. However, the Chief Secretary managed to get a clearance from the Accountant General's office for availing the concession. The LTC, which is paid on the basis of actual expense on non-circuitous travel to any place in India, can exceed Rs. 50,000. While he has done a legal tightrope walking in personal matters, the Selection Committee for appointment of the Electricity Regulatory Commission, for which he was the convener, ran into a legal mess. Even after one year, the Commission could not be formed. There is an allegation that this was deliberate. Though the Chief Minister directed recently that the recommendation of the Committee should be placed before the Cabinet, it is yet to reach the Cabinet. While Mr. Antony said that the `file is on its way to the Cabinet', there were reports that the Chief Secretary disregarded the Chief Minister's directive and sent it for Advocate General's opinion. Mr. Antony told the Cabinet meeting last Wednesday that he would be commenting more on the subject only after apprising the Cabinet of the details. Meanwhile, the State has lost Rs. 60 crores in Central assistance because of the delay in formation of the Commission. Earlier, Mr. Krishnamurthy had invited criticism for travelling in business class on an official tour to the United States with his wife when the standing orders were that officials should only travel in economy class in view of the financial problems of the State. However, Chief Secretary had obtained the Chief Minister's clearance for this. Asked about this, Mr. Antony had said that he was not aware of wives of officials travelling with them to America or whether this was on free tickets provided by the travel agency. While the actions of the Chief Secretary were technically correct, it affected the Government's image because the Government was advocating austerity in all spheres. If other officials follow the Chief Secretary's example, the State may see more officers retiring a few days before their normal date of superannuation.
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