Civil servant and public service

Dear Editor,
The resignation of IAS officer Kashish Mittal over a trivial transfer matter does not seem to be much on a cursory level. However, when analyzed deeply, it indeed raises a concern.
His major reason for resignation was his transfer to Arunachal Pradesh from the NITI Aayog, where he was working as a principal secretary. What is even more baffling is his reason for the action as being “unfair” to him. The transfer of an IAS officer within his/her cadre (AGMUT) being unfair beats me, unless there is a health issue involved.
This event nevertheless has brought to light a serious issue, ie, do officers join the civil services to serve only in plum postings? Are they not ready to get their hands dirty in order to work for the people, or are they so high and mighty that they no longer care about being a civil servant?
This defies all logic involved in ethical behaviour of a civil servant. If the officers are not willing to work for the less mainstream areas of the country, such officers are not fit for civil service. If transfer to a state of the Northeast can drive an officer to the point that he resigns, I think we need to retrospect the whole cadre system.
Every state deserves officers, be it central civil servants or state civil servants, who want to work for the state. Arunachal no doubt lags in many things, but the state and its people have always stood together. This is pure disrespect to the people of Arunachal.
Our honorable CM has been demanding a separate IAS cadre for the state for sometime now. I think it’s a brilliant opportunity to present its case to the Centre on the pretext of this resignation. Arunachal deserves officers who want to walk with the people shoulder to shoulder towards a brighter future and not some self-absorbed bureaucrat with their one eye always being on an empty position in Delhi.
Sincerely,
A citizen