Rama Krishna Sangem
1989 Batch IAS officer Somesh Kumar is replaced as Chief Secretary of Telangana by his batch mate A Santhi Kumari,IAS, on January 11, Wednesday. This way, Telangana got its first woman CS in 9 years. This is good. But, the legacy of Somesh Kumar who served as CS for 3 full years, from January 1, 2020 to till January 10, 2023, is special and indelible.
Somesh Kumar has lost his job in a High Court case, which asked him to go to Andhra Pradesh, his original cadre, based on an appeal filed by DOPT (Department of Personnel and Training) in the Centre. The DOPT challenged a ruling of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) that justified Somesh Kumar’s contention that he must not be sent to AP, as per an allocation order issued in 2014. The HC overruled that CAT ruling.
Now this wrangling is history. What is relevant is what kind of stamp Somesh Kumar as Telangana CS leaves behind at the end of his 3 years tenure. I as journalist have seen or known many Chief Secretaries for the last 30 years in the combined AP and later in Telangana. Each of them is known for his or her unique style and working culture. In fact, the post of CS is special in bureaucracy for which he or she is like a captain.
Workaholic CS
Somesh Kumar has brought with him a culture of workaholic. Right from the day one he assumed as CS, he never rested for a day. He is also known to be a round-the-clock CS. Even I used (whenever we spoke with) to joke with him that he works not like a CS, but as a Super Collector, referring to his field visits or personal inspections. He used to laugh off, at my comments.
By the time Somesh took over as CS, Telanganas’s initial hiccups with the Centre were almost settled. His predecessor Rajiv Sharma must have dealt with that burden in the first few years. After Somesh Kumar became CS, CM KCR is in his second term in government. CM’s priorities too have become sharpened and focused. Development and welfare have drawn competing attention from the CM.
Covid-19 came as a big challenge to Somesh from early 2020 on. He had to grapple with a medical crises which is unknown and daunting. We have seen, how Somesh Kumar used to review meetings from Secretariat and then take helicopter tours to districts – Covid hot-spots. From taking orders from CM KCR to teaming up with his colleague officials, Somesh never faltered in his tasks.
Telangana is one of the few states which handled well the migrant labour issue during Covid-19 pandemic. Somesh headed a cell in Secretariat to oversee the migrant labour transportation to their respective home states. A few senior IAS officials too were with him in this task. Of course, it was a collective work, but Somesh led the from the front. Later, when the migrant labour had to be brought back for work after lockdowns, Somesh put in personal efforts.
This is not a strange thing for Somesh Kumar as CS. He earlier handled the policy reforms which bring in some crisis like situations – for example, switch over to GST from July 1, 2017. He not just got well versed with the nitty-gritty of GST, but also trained his colleagues in the Commercial Taxes department. Several states sent teams of officials to study how Telangana seamlessly transitioned into GST regime. Today, Telangana is one of the top GST earners in India.
Controversies
Of course, no civil servant is free from controversies in the present day politics. Congress leader Revanth Reddy and some others have alleged that CM KCR is giving important posts to Bihar origin IAS and IPS officers. Some even called BRS as Bihar Rashtra Samithi. True, Somesh Kumar is from Bihar. But he never failed in his duties to keep Telangana interests at the top. For him, Telangana is his home.
Somesh Kumar makes it a point to talk in Telugu. He improved his Telugu a lot. He is always available on his phone to the needy and colleagues in the Service. There are complaints that he puts work related pressures on his colleague officials. Maybe true, but is only to meet the deadlines set by the CM. Somesh Kumar played a major role in executing KCR’s pet scheme, Dharani portal.
Still there are some technical glitches. Somesh Kumar wanted to clear them all by March 31, 2023 and make Dharani error -free. But, he had to leave the CS post much before. I am sure, his successor Santi Kumari will look into these unfinished tasks. Somesh Kumar has raised the benchmark of CS post expectations in Telangana. We can only wish Somesh Kumar all the best in coming days too.
