LUCKNOW: While the Yogi Adityanath government won accolades from different quarters for taking a lead in ridding the State of VVIP culture by taking red and blue beacons off all VVIP vehicles, including the chief minister’s on April 21, the officers of State provincial civil services (PCS) are finding it difficult to come to terms with the rule.
The Uttar Pradesh PCS Association has strongly opposed the State government’s decision to remove blue beacons atop officers’ official vehicles. The Association passed a resolution to this effect and submitted a memorandum to the Uttar Pradesh government demanding restoration of the old tradition- which allowed them to use a blue beacon atop their official vehicles.
It is a step taken by the Centre which fixed May 1 as the date to remove red and blue beacons from VVIP vehicles, but Yogi Adityanath’s government implemented it in UP on April 21. However, essential services like police escort vehicles, fire brigade and ambulances were exempted from the rule.
As the Association adopted a resolution against the government’s decision, its president Pawan Gangwar, said the officers were of the view that removal of the blue beacon from their vehicles would create logistic and operational problems for them apart from leading to confusion in their functions while on field duty.
“While on one hand the government expects us to reduce the response time, on the other, it is creating hurdles in the functioning. If the situation will demand an officer to rush to the trouble torn spot, how will he reach quickly. He will have to jostle through traffic jams or take a longer route. Time will be lost,” said Gangwar. He added that vehicles with a blue beacon were given smooth passage to the spot.
While a delegation of UP PCS Association members had met chief secretary Rahul Bhatnagar to hand over the memorandum, an officer felt like they were stripped of their status. “Neeli batti ki gaadi (A vehicle with blue beacon) also symbolises the pride and status of the post. We always aspired for it while preparing for PCS. When the opportunity arrived, the order also landed,” rued an officer on condition of anonymity.
Resentment has been brewing among PCS officers since the State government decided to remove red and blue beacons from official vehicles to shun VIP culture. CM Yogi Adityanath himself has removed the red beacon from his official fleet and his ministers and officers have followed the suit.
However, the UP PCS Association’s opposition has come as an unexpected move. Many senior IAS officers, meanwhile, feel that the decision has hit the bureaucratic ambitions of those officers who are crying foul on the pretext of duty.