Lokayukta Y. Bhaskar Rao is annoyed over the posting of IPS officer Prem Shankar Meena (ADGP rank) as head of the Lokayukta police wing last week. The Lokayukta recently conducted raids under the guidance of ADGP (Lokayukta) H.N. Satyanarayana Rao, who has now been posted to the modernisation, logistics and wireless wing of the police. As a practice, the Lokayukta is consulted by the government before postings are made to the police wing. But Mr. Rao was ignored this time. The “unilateral” decision of the Siddaramaiah government has ruffled feathers in the Lokayukta. Though there are no hard and fast rules about the government consulting the Lokayukta on postings, Mr. Rao is upset with the government for ignoring the well-established convention. Wanting to know the reasons for the sudden transfer of Mr. Rao, the Lokayukta has written to the government seeking an explanation. Mr. Rao has stated in the letter that the government has to consult the Lokayukta before appointing or transferring an officer as per Section 15(1) and 15(2) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984. However, the government has bluntly rejected the Lokayukta’s stand by arguing that it is not binding on its part to consult the Lokayukta.
Mr. Sathyanarayana Rao has not yet relieved from his post in the Lokayukta.In the past, the government consulted the Lokayukta through the Chief Secretary before posting a new officer to the anti-graft body, which usually presents a list of names. But the government has ignored the formality with the posting of Mr. Meena. Now, freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy has filed a PIL petition in the High Court of Karnataka questioning the interference of the government in the Lokayukta.
A little give and take
With the launch of several subsidy schemes, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is under pressure about footing mounting subsidy bills, which runs into several thousand crores. The Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, has set a three-month deadline for officials of the Commercial Tax Department to achieve 20 per cent growth (compared to 2013–14) in mobilisation of taxes or face stern action from the government. The collection of taxes was down (Rs. 16,000 crore till mid-September) owing to various reasons, including price fluctuation and vacancies in the department. Mr. Siddaramaiah was dissatisfied with the performance of some of the senior officials and collection of taxes in some sections within the department. The department contributes more than 60 per cent of the revenue to the State exchequer. During a review meting last week, he told officials to work hard to achieve the target of collecting Rs. 44,000 crore in 2014–15 as against the collection of Rs. 36,773 crore in 2013–14. However, officials are putting up their own conditions to reach the target. They say that the target could be achieved only if the Chief Minister took steps to fill vacancies in the department. A total of 45 posts of deputy commissioners, 80 assistant commissioners and 12 and joint commissioners are vacant. Further, several officials have been given additional charges, said officials.
Just get to the fields
Minister of State for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda has taken exception to the reluctance of officials to make visit fields. The other day when Mr. Gowda asked how many days he would be in the fields, the Joint Director of Agriculture, Dakshina Kannada, said five to six days in a month. He would be attending meetings on the remaining days, he said.
“Can’t you depute juniors to such meetings and concentrate on your mandate?” Mr. Gowda asked. The replies by the junior officers were in the same vein. They said that at the most, they could visit fields 10 days in a month as they had office work and meetings.
Another excuse offered by the officers was had been staff shortage. “We are busy managing the Raita Samparka Kendras, distributing seeds and fertilizer to farmers. It will take the entire day,” they said. Mr. Gowda said that unfortunately the department had becomes a sales and distribution agency to provide seeds and fertilizer, overshadowing its mandate of doing extension works and improving production. “We have now appointed personnel on contract basis to man Raita Sampatka Kendras and you please go to the fields,” the Minister curtly told the officers.
Cracking the whip
G. Parameshwara’s dream of becoming the Deputy Chief Minister may not have materialised, but he is leveraging his post as KPCC president to the fullest. He has written to all Ministers telling them that it is not good enough if they sit in the Vidhana Soudha. They should make regular visits to the KPCC office and listen to the grievances of party workers, he has commanded. This was reiterated at an executive committee meeting of the KPCC on Saturday.
The Ministers are complying. Over the last week, they have been diligently visiting the Congress office and meeting people. There has been a bit of unintended comic relief as well. Minister for Primary Education Kimmane Ratnakar subjected a few teachers, who had come with grievances, to a GK test. The teachers failed quite miserably, unable to tell when Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda were born. He told them he would take their grievance seriously after they brush up on their history.
