The proposed changes to the Indian Administrative Services and Indian Police Services cadre rules will allow greater scope for abuse of power by the Centre, a group of over 109 former civil servants said today, adding, the Centre can target officers occupying strategic posts whenever it is unhappy with state governments. In the federal structure of the country, the Union and the states exist as distinct and separate entities, though they work in tandem to subserve common constitutional objectives, they said in a statement. The All India Services (AIS) — the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) — constitute the administrative framework for this unique relationship between the two levels of government and give it stability and balance, it said. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has recently proposed changes in the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954 that will take away the power of states to override the Centre’s request for seeking officers on central deputation.