Tripura is suffering from a significant administrative deficiency, since more than a dozen senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers from the Tripura cadre stay on central deputation or maintain positions outside the state, some for more than a decade.
This comes at a time when the state administration is dealing with a severe officer shortage, and several vital central projects are blocked due to a lack of senior-level supervision.
Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha is said to have repeatedly sought the return of these experienced officers in order to improve the governmental machinery.
However, despite repeated requests and the increasing severity of governance concerns, no senior officer seems eager to return to the state for unclear reasons.
Shri Sriram Taranikanti (TR: 1992), Director of LBSNAA, Mussoorie, Shri Shashi Ranjan Kumar (TR: 1992), Secretary, UPSC, New Delhi, Shri M. Nagaraju (TR: 1993), Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Shri Asutosh Jindal (TR: 1995), and Minister (Economic), Embassy of India, Washington, DC, are the senior IAS officers of the Tripura Cadre on Deputation.
One of the senior officers currently in “Compulsory Waiting” for more than two years without a clear reason is Shri Barun Kumar Sahu (TR: 1992). The fact that neither the public nor the state administration are aware of the causes of this inexplicable delay in his reassignment is among the most concerning situations.
According to state Secretariat sources, the state’s administrative foundation is deteriorating as a result of the severe officer shortage, with important development programs and governance activities suffering from the lack of top decision-makers.
According to secretariat sources, a number of officers have been absent for prolonged periods of time, which raises questions about the disparity in the accountability and contribution of cadres. Junior officers are also taking the brunt of administrative load because there are no senior officials to mentor and oversee them. The Tripura government has resorted to recruiting former IAS officers to fill important positions as a temporary solution.