Confusion over the transfer of Bidar Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pavan Kumar Malpati seems to have hampered works in the local body.
The CEO was transferred a few days after the members complained that he was slowing down development works “citing too many rules and regulations”. The zilla panchayat members had passed a resolution seeking his transfer.
Though the government rejected the resolution, the CEO was transferred. On Thursday, the government sent a letter suspending the transfer.
This angered some ZP members who barged into the CEO’s chamber on Thursday and shouted at him for staying in the district “illegally”.
“Now, officers don’t know whether the CEO will go or stay,” sources said. The members are claiming victory.
ZP president Bharatbai Mallinath Sherikar, who is considered to be a follower of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, claimed she had facilitated the transfer. “Some members are pressuring officers to toe their line, warning them that they will have to face the same fate as that of the CEO,” a senior officer in the engineering section said.
The developments seem to be partly political. The Congress-led resolution did not go down well with Eshwar Khandre, district in- charge Minister, who wrote to the Chief Minister objecting to the move. Fissures in the district Congress seem to be responsible for this.
On Thursday evening, the office of the Chief Minister sent a fax to the ZP office, suspending the transfer order and asked Mr. Malpati to continue to function till further orders. The State government also sent a letter to the ZP rejecting the resolution seeking the officer’s transfer. Some members who came to know of this, reprimanded the CEO for staying back in Bidar even after being transferred.
“Ms. Sherikar, ZP vice-president Prakash Patil and members such as Anil Gundappa and Vidyasagar Shindhe and husbands of some women members shouted at the CEO for nearly half an hour. It was disturbing,” another officer said.
Mr. Malpati, who has earned a reputation for being a stickler to rules and for his focus on development works, has sought to be relieved, say ZP sources. “He is upset that his work in the last 10 months is not being recognised. If he moves out, it will put pressure on the officers who are deputed here later,” an officer said.
