D. Vidyavathi, Channarayapatna tahsildar, had to face the wrath of Kagodu Thimmappa, Revenue Minister, when she broke down at a review meeting in Hassan on Wednesday. She was upset because Deputy Commissioner V. Chaitra had issued her a notice asking her to go on compulsory leave.
Mr. Thimmappa had convened a meeting to review the status of applications seeking a grant of land under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, in the district. During the meeting, the tahsildar stood up to inform the Minister that she had been asked to go on compulsory leave. As she proceeded towards the Minister’s chair with a copy of the notice in her hand, she began weeping. The DC, unhappy with her work in the taluk, had issued the notice only a few minutes before the meeting began. The tahsildar is scheduled to retire in June this year. Going on compulsory leave at this stage will disturb her post-retirement financial settlements.
The Minister, expressing serious objection to her conduct, said, “This was not expected from an officer in a meeting.” Further, he said, “The officers should be strong and do good work for the benefit of the people. If they lose control of their emotions, how will they manage taluk administration?”
Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs C.N. Balakrishna and H.D. Revanna came out in support of the tahsildar stating that she had done far better work than the DC herself. “The tahsildar is doing better work when compared to the work of the Deputy Commissioner,” Mr. Revanna said, and added that Ms. Chaitra was unfit to hold the post of DC.
