State exploring possibilities of lateral entry of experts into bureaucracy

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government is exploring the possibilities of lateral entry of experts in various fields into the bureaucracy at senior positions to address the shortage of IAS officers the government has currently been facing.

The officials or the experts from different fields may be posted in different departments as advisors or in different capacities as per the profile of the individuals through the lateral entry scheme. The state government may chalk out the details of the exact profile and responsibilities of these

lateral entry officials.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked Chief Secretary B P Gopalika to study the legal aspects of the matter.

The Bengal government has been facing a dearth of IAS officers. Many of the IAS officers from other states opt for Bengal cadre officers. There are instances where husband and wife are both IAS but in different states. As a result, an officer who is in Bengal is urging the government for a release so that he/she can go to the state where his/her spouse is in.

Chief Minister Banerjee has repeatedly spoken about the dearth of IAS officers. She recently expressed her concern over such incidents where a Bengal cadre officer is willing to go to another state because his/her spouse serves as an IAS there. Banerjee also stated that these officers should have thought about such issues earlier before opting for Bengal. The number of Bengal cadre IAS officers has dropped in Delhi as well. The state

government has tried to manage the situation with WBCS (executive) officers but there should be an equilibrium, experts said.

The Mamata Banerjee government has therefore contemplated if non-IAS experts in various fields can be inducted through lateral entry as a value addition to the governance. For example, if an education specialist is inducted, he/she can provide consultation to the Education minister as well.

Highly placed sources in the state government said that the main objective of the move is to ensure better governance. “If the state government mulls the lateral entry option, these appointments may be contractual for a specific period. Their eligibility criteria may be equivalent to an IAS officer,” a senior government official said.

State Home Personnel and Administrative Reforms department may work out the pay and perks of these lateral entry officers only after the Chief Minister gives her final nod. In 2018, the Centre had stated that the lateral entry scheme would not only deal with the dearth of IAS officers but also bring in domain expertise in the bureaucracy. The Centre had, however, started the lateral entry scheme. When the Modi government at the Centre in the same year had invited applications from professionals above 40 and with 15 years’ work experience in any of the 10 fields - economic affairs, civil aviation, commerce, shipping, agricultural, road transport, revenue, environment, forest and climate and financial services, Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee objected to the Centre’s proposal.

Banerjee had stated that these officers from Central services hold top positions and they are recruited in government service through a transparent recruitment process carried out by UPSC. Any shift from such a standard would not be good for the nation.

But a dearth of IAS officers might have pushed the state government to explore the new possibilities as an alternative step to tide over the crisis of top officers in various departments.