State Security Advisor (SSA) in 2018, Principal Advisor for Internal Security in 2019 and State Police Advisor (SPA) in 2023 — Mamata Banerjee’s government created these positions to re-appoint senior officers post their retirement. But a chronological study points out that the posts lay vacant or turned defunct after the term of the specific officer, for whom the post was created, ended.
On December 27, the West Bengal government created the position of State Police Advisor and issued a notification to appoint retired DGP Manoj Malaviya for the post. Malaviya served as the DGP of West Bengal for two years and retired on December 27z
The notification does not elaborate on Malaviya’s responsibilities or his work profile, but said he has been “appointed as State Police Advisor for a period of three years, and his pay and allowances shall be fixed in consultation with the finance department”.
The position of an SSA was created on the lines of National Security Advisor in 2018. Surajit Kar Purakastha, who retired as the DGP of Bengal in 2018, was appointed as the SSA. The government published a gazette notification on May 23, 2018 stating that there was “a need for synergy amongst law enforcing agencies under the state government for strategic intervention in situations relating to law and order, crime prevention and security of the state”.
In order to achieve the objectives, the notification said the government would appoint an SSA who would advise the chief minister on the matters of “internal security and offer strategic advice relating to security…” The notification explained the responsibilities of the SSA giving him sweeping powers and act as “principal security co-ordinator of the chief minister”.
A month later, the state government created another position as ‘Principal Advisor for Internal Security’ and appointed another retired IPS officer, Rina Mitra for the role. The order was issued on February 12, 2019. In both cases, after the term of Purakayastha and Mitra ended, the positions fell vacant. However, the state government has now come up with a new position. News18 has the copies of all the relevant orders and notifications.
News18 has reached out to the state government for its response and a detailed query in this regard has been sent to the state home secretary, BP Gopalika. The report will be updated as and when the response is received.
Extensions & Post-Retirement Posts
News 18 spoke with senior serving and retired bureaucrats to understand such trend across the state and central governments. The government at Centre extended the tenures of cabinet secretary and home secretary thrice tweaking the All India Services (AIS) rules. However, the central government did not create new positions to accommodate a retired officer. West Bengal has been the frontrunner in that, said the senior officers in service.
“The government may create positions according to its requirement, and legally, it is not wrong too. However, one needs to put it in perspective. In the end, it is the public money that is being spent on creating a position and to accommodate an officer. So, the government should clearly explain the functions and responsibilities of certain positions. If these positions are created in public interest, as it is written in every government order, the state should continue with it. It should not look like a one-time post meant for a specific officer,” said a senior IPS officer serving in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Talking to News18, retired IPS officer Prakash Singh, who is known for his contributions in bringing about police reforms, called such practices as “outrageous”.
“This practice is prevalent in both IAS and IPS. This has been happening across spectrum. The actions of the governments are becoming more blatant and outrageous. These kind of arrangements send wrong messages to the police and the bureaucracy as a whole,” said Singh.
“This is why, we see the declining performances of the police and administration. It has been happening in the states and Centre, while shades of patronage and rewarding the loyal have changed. The laws are being amended, rules are being tweaked to circumvent the bureaucratic system. It also demoralise and demotivate the junior officers, who want to serve with honesty and want to rise by merit. They feel that they are out of the reckoning for political reasons,” he added.
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