While the DMK government has undertaken multiple exercises of reshuffling in the bureaucracy over the past month, some of the newly-posted senior officials are waiting for the allotment of official cars. A section of transferred civil servants has retained the cars allotted to them in their previous departments, seeking time to return their vehicles.
Officials in the Secretariat assigning vehicles to IAS officers are in a fix due to this. About a dozen officials mostly in senior ranks such as Additional Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, who were transferred recently, have got relieved from their duties but have retained their cars. Meanwhile, IAS officers posted in their places are waiting to get vehicles.
Officials in the Public Department say they are caught in-between and have the task of explaining the situation to the new officials. The situation is similar in a few other Departments.
Generally, it takes a few days before an official gets relieved of duties before joining a new posting. However when mass reshuffles are effected, handing over of vehicles gets delayed as different officials take over their new responsibilities around the same time, explained an official.
