Regional parties affect civil services: Paper

The paper also said frequent political changes leave netas with little time to understand issues.

The Congress may not be the only entity hemmed in by the rise of regional parties.

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Powerful regional parties that play an important role in coalition governments aren’t good for the performance of civil services, suggested a government paper prepared for the Civil Service Day, to be observed on Saturday. “The rise of the regional parties and a larger role being played by them in coalition governments has exacerbated the challenges faced by civil servants,” the paper said.

The document was drafted as background material for senior civil servants attending the panel discussion — Civil Services in the 21st Century: Responding to Emerging Challenges — to be held on Saturday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also address the bureaucrats.

The paper went on to explain that frequent changes in political leadership in coalition governments do not give ministers enough time to fully understand issues, or build a strong working relationship with civil servants. “As a result, the civil servants get pulled in different directions and do not get enough guidance or recognition,” the document circulated by the Department of Administrative Reforms said.

Railway ministry officials said it accurately reflected what has been happening at Rail Bhavan over the last few months. "There has to be consistency in the political direction for the officials to function efficiently," one of them said.

West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who has forced the Manmohan Singh government to put several decisions on pause, not only forced Dinesh Trivedi to quit as railway minister after presenting the railway budget but also got his replacement to roll back the fare hike.