Just a few months after receiving ‘zero’ rating for his performance at AIIMS, the Magsaysay award winner gets ‘outstanding’ rating by Uttarakhand
Sanjiv Chaturvedi, the IFS officer who is perennially in news courting controversies with his fight against corruption, has some reason to smile: the Uttarakhand government has given him an ‘outstanding’ rating in his performance evaluation for 2016-17. Surprisingly, this comes within months of the ‘zero’ rating from the health ministry for his stint at AIIMS.
The 2002-batch IFS officer is currently posted as the conservator of forest (research) at Haldwani in Uttarakhand.
Chaturvedi’s current reporting authority BP Gupta [chief conservator of forests (research and biodiversity conservation), Haldwani] and reviewing authority Rajendra Kumar [Uttarakhand’s principal chief conservator of forests] also consider his work as outstanding. Even Uttarakhand’s forest minister, Harak Singh Rawat, is all praises for him.
Ironically, as the deputy director at AIIMS, Chaturvedi was given grade ‘zero’ by the health ministry for his appraisal for 2015-2016 – the same year in which he was conferred with the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award for his crusade against corruption. Interestingly, the same reviewing and reporting authorities gave him an ‘outstanding’ grade for previous two years.
Between 2005 and 2012, Chaturvedi was posted as divisional forest officer in various districts of Haryana. From 2012 to 2016, he was on a central deputation at AIIMS, where he served as the institute’s deputy director. At AIIMS, he was also given an additional charge of chief vigilance officer (CVO) from 2012 to 2014.
Chaturvedi is the youngest and fourth Indian civil servant to receive the Magsaysay award. Before Chaturvedi, Kiran Bedi, TN Seshan, and James Michael Lyngdoh were the only civil servants to bag the award. While Kiran Bedi received the award after 22 years of her service, TN Seshan and Lyngdoh got it post retirement. Chaturvedi received it within just 13 years of his service.
Being controversy’s favourite child
During his stint as a forest officer in Haryana from 2005 to 2012, he exposed many corruption cases and was transferred 12 times.
As the CVO at AIIMS, he initiated action in over 200 corruption cases in the institute, including an inquiry against the then director of AIIMS Dr MC Mishra. This may have led to his removal from the post of CVO in August 2014.
Performance record
A look at the grades given to Chaturvedi since he took charge in 2005.
2016 – 2017: Outstanding
2015 – 2016: 1 (Zero)
2014 – 2015: 9.5 (Outstanding)
2013 – 2014: 9.5 (Outstanding)
2011 – 2012: 3.5 (Zero) – Later restored to ‘outstanding’ by the president
2010 – 2011: 3.5 (Zero) – Later restored to ‘outstanding’ by the president
2009 – 2010: Outstanding
2008 – 2009: Outstanding
2007 – 2008: Outstanding
2006 – 2007: Outstanding
2005 – 2006: Outstanding
According to the department of personnel and training, any grade between 0-4 is considered ‘zero’ and between 8-10 as ‘outstanding’ for the purpose of promotion and other service matters.
Appreciation and recognition
President: Between 2008 and 2014, the president of India passed four orders in Chaturvedi’s support, revoking the then Bhupinder Singh Hooda government’s charge sheets against him in Haryana.
Prime minister’s office: In November 2012, the prime minister’s office wrote to the then cabinet secretary, “The undersigned is directed to request that Cabinet Secretary may satisfy himself thoroughly before taking any decision in the CSB (Civil Services Board) and keep this office information.”
Judiciary: In a work allocation case, a judicial bench in May 2016, said this about Chaturvedi: “It seems that the applicant has chosen a path of integrity and righteousness… this is a difficult path. We, therefore, close this matter…”
Intelligence bureau: In an affidavit filed before the Delhi high court, the intelligence bureau in its confidential report for annual evaluation had found him to be a ‘diligent officer’.
Parliamentary standing committee: In September 2012, the then chairman of parliamentary standing committee for health and family welfare, Brajesh Pathak, in a letter to the then union health minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, wrote this about Chaturvedi being shifted from CVO office at AIIMS: “…this newly posted officer had a very credible track record of fight against the corruption, in his earlier stint in Haryana, during which Prime Minister Office had also intervened, in favour of the officer. Needless to say, this move of the ministry would only discourage the honest officers.”
Union health secretary: In May 2014, the then union health secretary, Vishwas Mehta, in a note, said that the “performance of Shri Sanjiv Chaturvedi has been exemplary and he is known for absolute integrity. He has been instrumental in exposing corruption and based on his finding inquiries have been initiated against some officers by investigating agencies like CBI”.
