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Pained at Govt’s ‘Casual Attitude’ to Pandemic Crisis, Over 115 Civil Servants Write Open Letter to PM

Act now, as “history will judge our society, your government and, above all, you personally, on how effectively we handle this crisis,” says the letter.
Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Over 115 former civil servants have expressed ‘anger and anguish’ at the Centre’s ‘casual attitude’ toward the magnitude of the tragedies unfolding during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling for universal vaccination, ramping up testing and tracing in rural and urban areas and income support to the poor.

“Your government seems to be more concerned with managing the narrative of “efficient” management of the Covid crisis rather than addressing the crucial issues at stake. Even authentic data on the testing carried out in different states, the number of positive cases, the number of persons hospitalised and mortality figures have not been publicly disseminated. This has had serious implications for the adequate provision of necessary medical facilities in different states as well as for devising appropriate measures in different states to control the spread of the pandemic,” said an open letter by the former civil servants to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The signatories include former ambassadors, diplomats, secretaries to the Centre and state governments, such as former National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon, former Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar, N C Saxena, former secretary, Planning Commission, Keshav Desiraju, former health secretary among others.

Calling out opaqueness of the PMCares fund, the uncalled for expenditure on projects such as the Central Vista, the letter flayed the Centre for the “steady erosion of the Cabinet system of governance, the worsening of federal relationships with the states, especially those governed by parties opposed to the party ruling at the Centre, the lack of informed consultation with experts and Parliamentary committees, the failure to take the timely advice of expert committees and the absence of effective coordination with state governments have had disastrous consequences for the poor and disadvantaged and now for the better off sections of society as well.”

Read the full text of the letter below:

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER:

INDIA NEEDS ACTION NOW

20 May 2021

Dear Prime Minister,

We, a group of former civil servants from the All India and Central Services, with a deep commitment to the Constitution of India and with no political affiliations, have written to you as well as other constitutional authorities on a number of occasions in the past, whenever we felt that executive actions violated the provisions of the Constitution. Today, in the midst of the Covid pandemic and the suffering that has engulfed the people of our country, we write to you in anguish as well as in anger. We are aware that this pandemic threatens the entire world and is not going to leave the citizens of India untouched. And yet, what numbs our senses daily is not just the cries of the citizenry for medical assistance and the death toll in its thousands but the manifestly casual attitude of your government to the magnitude of the crisis and its implications for the mental and physical health of the community of Indians.

The steady erosion of the Cabinet system of governance, the worsening of federal relationships with the states, especially those governed by parties opposed to the party ruling at the centre, the lack of informed consultation with experts and Parliamentary committees, the failure to take the timely advice of expert committees and the absence of effective coordination with state governments have had disastrous consequences for the poor and disadvantaged and now for the better off sections of society as well. Despite warnings from the international community and our own scientists, the breathing space between the first and the second waves was not used to augment critical resources such as medical staff, hospital beds, oxygen supplies, ventilators and drugs and other medical supplies. Even more inexcusably, no advance planning was done to secure adequate stocks of vaccines, despite India being one of the major vaccine suppliers to the world. The complacency displayed by you and your ministerial colleagues at various forums not only diverted attention from the looming threat but probably also contributed to both state governments and citizens letting down their guard at a crucial juncture. As a result, your Atmanirbhar Bharat is today compelled to seek the help of the outside world to lessen the agony inflicted on its own people by your government.

Right from the outset of the pandemic in March 2020, your government has never systematically assessed the funds that state governments would need to tackle the pandemic. The PM-CARES fund was set up when there was already a Prime Minister National Relief Fund in place. No disclosures have been made regarding the funds collected and the expenditures on various items. This fund attracted to itself moneys which would otherwise have gone from corporates and the public to the various CM Relief Funds and to NGOs. Your government has not been prompt in paying outstanding GST dues to the states, which could have helped them defray Covid care expenses. At the same time, your government has incurred unnecessary expenditure on the Central Vista redevelopment project; these funds could well have been more gainfully used to tackle the crisis. On top of this, the harsh restrictions imposed on NGOs, especially those obtaining foreign contributions, have hampered their efforts in providing relief during the pandemic.

While the holding of elections to the legislative assemblies of four states and one union territory may have been unavoidable, you, Mr. Prime Minister, and your party functionaries threw all caution to the winds by conducting huge public rallies in different states, when a restrained campaign by your party would have served as a salutary example to other political parties. The Kumbh Mela at Haridwar was conducted with scant regard for Covid safety regulations. With two such “super spreader” events taking place just when the second surge of the virus was becoming a major threat, we are now witnessing the horrifying spectacle of the rampant spread of the Covid virus across the rural hinterland of the country.

Your government seems to be more concerned with managing the narrative of “efficient” management of the Covid crisis rather than addressing the crucial issues at stake. Even authentic data on the testing carried out in different states, the number of positive cases, the number of persons hospitalised and mortality figures have not been publicly disseminated. This has had serious implications for the adequate provision of necessary medical facilities in different states as well as for devising appropriate measures in different states to control the spread of the pandemic.

We urge the Government of India to take the following actions immediately:

·Provide for free, universal vaccination to all citizens of India. Government of India must centralize the procurement of vaccines from all available sources and supply them to state governments and all other implementing agencies.

·Coordinate effectively with state governments to ensure the adequacy of oxygen facilities, essential lifesaving drugs and equipment and hospital beds in all States of the country.

·Greatly ramp up RT-PCR testing in both rural and urban areas.

·Make adequate funds available to the States for provision of medical facilities and stop expenditures on non-essential items like the Central Vista redevelopment project.

·Draw on the existing surplus foodgrain stocks to provide free rations to the families of the marginalised and deprived sections of society as well as unorganised labour who have lost their employment opportunities until the ferocity of the pandemic and the hunger and livelihood crisis abates.

·Fully provide, in consultation with state governments, for existing nutrition schemes for school going children and supplementary nutrition for mothers and children in the pre-school age groups. .

·Provide a monthly income support for the current financial year to the needy sections of society to enable them to meet contingent expenses and unforeseen emergencies. Economists have recommended ₹ 7000 per month per household, equivalent to minimum wages.

·Immediately remove the FCRA restrictions imposed on NGOs so that they can avail of funds provided by foreign governments and charities for Covid management and other related activities.

·Place all data in the public domain and ensure that evidence-based policy measures are implemented.

·Constitute an all-party committee at the central level to advise on and review all government decisions and monitor the control of the pandemic in different areas of the country.

While the above constitute actions to be taken at the politico-administrative level, the most important action relates to building up the confidence and morale of a population hard hit by the loss of their near and dear ones. Compassion and caring have to be the cornerstones of government policy. History will judge our society, your government and, above all, you personally, on how effectively we handle this crisis.

SATYAMEVA JAYATE

Yours sincerely,

CONSTITUTIONAL CONDUCT GROUP

(116 signatories, as below)

1 Anita Agnihotri IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of Social Justice Empowerment, GoI
2 Salahuddin Ahmad IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan
3 S.P. Ambrose IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Shipping & Transport, GoI
4 Anand Arni R&AW (Retd.) Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
5 G. Balachandhran IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
6 Vappala Balachandran IPS (Retd.) Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
7 Gopalan Balagopal IAS (Retd.) Former Special Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
8 Chandrashekhar Balakrishnan IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Coal, GoI
9 Rana Banerji R&AW (Retd.) Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat (R&AW), GoI
10 T.K. Banerji IAS (Retd.) Former Member, Union Public Service Commission
11 Sharad Behar IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
12 Aurobindo Behera IAS (Retd.) Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Odisha
13 Madhu Bhaduri IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Portugal
14 K.V. Bhagirath IFS (Retd.) Former Secretary General, Indian Ocean Rim Association, Mauritius
15 Meeran C Borwankar IPS (Retd.) Former DGP, Bureau of Police Research and Development, GoI
16 Ravi Budhiraja IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, GoI
17 Sundar Burra IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
18 Maneshwar Singh Chahal IAS (Retd.) Former Principal Secretary, Home, Govt. of Punjab
19 R. Chandramohan IAS (Retd.) Former Principal Secretary, Transport and Urban Development, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
20 K.M. Chandrasekhar IAS (Retd.) Former Cabinet Secretary, GoI
21 Rachel Chatterjee IAS (Retd.) Former Special Chief Secretary, Agriculture, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh
22 Kalyani Chaudhuri IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
23 Gurjit Singh Cheema IAS (Retd.) Former Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Govt. of Punjab
24 Anna Dani IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
25 Vibha Puri Das IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI
26 P.R. Dasgupta IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Food Corporation of India, GoI
27 Nitin Desai   Former Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, GoI
28 Keshav Desiraju IAS (Retd.) Former Health Secretary, GoI
29 M.G. Devasahayam IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana
30 Sushil Dubey IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Sweden
31 A.S. Dulat IPS (Retd.) Former OSD on Kashmir, Prime Minister’s Office, GoI
32 K.P. Fabian IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Italy
33 Prabhu Ghate IAS (Retd.) Former Addl. Director General, Department of Tourism, GoI
34 Arif Ghauri IRS (Retd.) Former Governance Adviser, DFID, Govt. of the United Kingdom (on deputation)
35 Gourisankar Ghosh IAS (Retd.) Former Mission Director, National Drinking Water Mission, GoI
36 Suresh K. Goel IFS (Retd.) Former Director General, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, GoI
37 S. Gopal IPS (Retd.) Former Special Secretary, GoI
38 H.S. Gujral IFoS (Retd.) Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Govt. of Punjab
39 Meena Gupta IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI
40 Ravi Vira Gupta IAS (Retd.) Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
41 Wajahat Habibullah IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, GoI and former Chief Information Commissioner
42 Deepa Hari IRS (Resigned)  
43 Siraj Hussain IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of Agriculture, GoI
44 Kamal Jaswal IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of Information Technology, GoI
45 Najeeb Jung IAS (Retd.) Former Lieutenant Governor, Delhi
46 Vinod C. Khanna IFS (Retd.) Former Additional Secretary, MEA, GoI
47 Ajai Kumar IFoS(Retd.) Former Director, Ministry of Agriculture, GoI
48 Brijesh Kumar IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Department of Information Technology, GoI
49 Ish Kumar IPS (Retd.) Former DGP (Vigilance & Enforcement), Govt. of Telangana and former Special Rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission
50 Sudhir Kumar IAS (Retd.) Former Member, Central Administrative Tribunal
51 P.K. Lahiri IAS (Retd.) Former ED, Asian Development Bank & Former Revenue Secretary, GoI
52 Subodh Lal IPoS (Resigned) Former Deputy Director General, Ministry of Communications, GoI
53 S.K. Lambah IFS (Retd.) Former Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of India
54 B.B. Mahajan IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Deptt. of Food, GoI
55 Harsh Mander IAS (Retd.) Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
56 Amitabh Mathur IPS (Retd.) Former Director, Aviation Research Centre and Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
57 Lalit Mathur IAS (Retd.) Former Director General, National Institute of Rural Development, GoI
58 Aditi Mehta IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan
59 Shivshankar Menon IFS (Retd.) Former Foreign Secretary and Former National Security Adviser
60 Sonalini Mirchandani IFS (Resigned) GoI
61 Malay Mishra IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Hungary
62 Sunil Mitra IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI
63 Noor Mohammad IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority, Govt. of India
64 Avinash Mohananey IPS (Retd.) Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Sikkim
65 Deb Mukharji IFS (Retd.) Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and former Ambassador to Nepal
66 Shiv Shankar Mukherjee IFS (Retd.) Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
67 Gautam Mukhopadhaya IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Myanmar
68 Nagalsamy IA&AS (Retd.) Former Principal Accountant General, Tamil Nadu & Kerala
69 T.K.A. Nair IAS (Retd.) Former Adviser to Prime Minister of India
70 Surendra Nath IAS (Retd.) Former Member, Finance Commission, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
71 P. Joy Oommen IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Chhattisgarh
72 Amitabha Pande IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI
73 Niranjan Pant IA&AS (Retd.) Former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, GoI
74 P. R. Parthasarathy IPS (Retd.) Former Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Govt. of Maharashtra
75 Alok Perti IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI
76 R. Poornalingam IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI
77 Rajesh Prasad IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to the Netherlands
78 Sharda Prasad IAS (Retd.) Former Director General (Employment and Training), Ministry of Labour and Employment, GoI
79 R.M. Premkumar IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
80 T.R. Raghunandan IAS (Retd.) Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, GoI
81 N.K. Raghupathy IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI
82 V.P. Raja IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission
83 C. Babu Rajeev IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, GoI
84 K. Sujatha Rao IAS (Retd.) Former Health Secretary, GoI
85 M.Y. Rao IAS (Retd.)  
86 Satwant Reddy IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, GoI
87 Vijaya Latha Reddy IFS (Retd.) Former Deputy National Security Adviser, GoI
88 Julio Ribeiro IPS (Retd.) Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & former Ambassador to Romania
89 Aruna Roy IAS (Resigned)  
90 Manabendra N. Roy IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
91 K. Saleem Ali IPS (Retd.) Former Special Director, CBI, GoI
92 Deepak Sanan IAS (Retd.) Former Principal Adviser (AR) to Chief Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
93 G. Sankaran IC&CES (Retd.) Former President, Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal
94 S. Satyabhama IAS (Retd.) Former Chairperson, National Seeds Corporation, GoI
95 N.C. Saxena IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI
96 A. Selvaraj IRS (Retd.) Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, GoI
97 Ardhendu Sen IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
98 Abhijit Sengupta IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI
99 Aftab Seth IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Japan
100 Ashok Kumar Sharma IFoS (Retd.) Former MD, State Forest Development Corporation, Govt. of Gujarat
101 Ashok Kumar Sharma IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia
102 Navrekha Sharma IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Indonesia
103 Pravesh Sharma IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
104 Raju Sharma IAS (Retd.) Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh
105 Rashmi Shukla Sharma IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
106 Padamvir Singh IAS (Retd.) Former Director, LBSNAA, Mussoorie, GoI
107 Sujatha Singh IFS (Retd.) Former Foreign Secretary, GoI
108 Tirlochan Singh IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, GoI
109 Jawhar Sircar IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI, & former CEO, Prasar Bharati
110 Parveen Talha IRS (Retd.) Former Member, Union Public Service Commission
111 Thanksy Thekkekera IAS (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Minorities Development, Govt. of Maharashtra
112 P.S.S. Thomas IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission
113 Hindal Tyabji IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary rank, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir
114 Jawed Usmani IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh & former Chief Information Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh
115 Ashok Vajpeyi IAS (Retd.) Former Chairman, Lalit Kala Akademi
116 Ramani Venkatesan IAS (Retd.) Former Director General, YASHADA, Govt. of Maharashtra

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