New Delhi (02.09.2021): The 1985-batch IRS officer Jagannath Bidyadhar Mohapatra has made it to the post of CBDT chairman in a not so highly competitive race spaced over three months after Pramod Chandra Mody completed his contractual extended tenure on May 31, 2021; not so highly competitive race because almost everyone at the top understood well that the race was limited between the two batchmates only including Mrs Anuja Sarangi.

Although he may enjoy his tenure as new CBDT chairman in the normal course till his retirement on April 30, 2022, yet one can never rule out the extension of his service after retirement in the light of precedents set by giving extended tenure in this highly critical post to his predecessors Sushil Chandra and Pramod Chandra Mody who were retained as Chairman after their retirement on contract.

In this regard, one can't but relish Mohapatra's appointment notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) which is singularly conspicuous in its silence over his tenure. 

It reads: “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Shri J.B. Mohapatra, IRS (IT:85031), Member, Central Board of Direct Taxes as Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes.”

One can only wait and watch what happens on or before April 30 next year.

Till then, Ms. Anuja Sarangi, having serving tenure till May 2023, may have to wait and see whether the NDA administration continues to stick to a wholly avoidable precedent it has set in motion at the cost of deserving officers. 

Readers may be aware that the roster notified on 03 June made Mohapatra ad-hoc Chairman (additional charge) of CBDT in addition to the regular charge of Member (Investigations) - making him the first regular Member for Investigation after Gopal Mukherjee’s retirement in Feb 2019. And in line with the trend that started with Sushil Chandra, the Member (Investigations) post appears to have become fused with the Chairmanship. It is not just a coincidence that Mohapatra was initially made Member (Investigation), an assignment loaded with political overtones, and then made a regular Chairman.

In the very backdrop of the roster, indications were clear that Mohapatra had a clear edge over Sarangi for the chairmanship.

If one follows the chronology, Mohapatra’s rise to Chairmanship shines a light on the fact that the final tie avoidably narrowed down to two 1985 batch officers - the other being his own batchmate Ms. Anuja Sarangi who is currently Member (Administration & Faceless Schemes).

The day the administration appointed Mohapatra as Member (Investigation) and interim chairman side-lining the senior-most 1984-batch officer and Board member Krishna Mohan Prasad, IRS officers have been loud in their thinking on the scheme of things in the CBDT.

It is pointed out that since Prasad was scheduled to retire on 31.08.2021, no harm could have come in giving him the additional charge of the interim chairman, more so because he could not be made the full-time chairman for which one must have a minimum of six months of residual service. But it's possible that the administration might have desired to give a feel of the new responsibility to Mohapatra as he had a long-serving period left to his credit.

Though Mohapatra’s rivals gleefully refer to his political connections, it's a reality that in doing so they may be only indulging in loose talks that deliberately/biasedly ignore Mohapatra’s professional competence and credentials.

(By Rakesh Ranjan)

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