A row erupted as H. Prasanna took charge as Commissioner of the Mangalore City Corporation here on Wednesday even as the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) reportedly asked Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim “to put it on hold”.
Mr. Prasanna, a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) cadre officer, who was earlier Additional Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu, after taking charge in the forenoon met senior officials of the corporation and told them that he would be conducting a meeting with them in the afternoon. But curiously he did not turn up at the corporation office in the afternoon.
His taking-charge took a twist in the afternoon following an instruction reportedly from the CMO. It was not clear why the CMO asked Mr. Ibrahim to “put his order on hold.”
Mr. Ibrahim confirmed to The Hindu that the Chief Minister’s Office “orally conveyed” to him to “put Mr. Prasanna’s taking charge on hold”. “Accordingly, I asked Mr. Prasanna not to discharge his duties. I hope the matter will be cleared on Thursday,” he said.
Mr. Prasanna, however, could not be contacted.
Sources said that Ajith Kumar Hegde S., who was the corporation Commissioner, is training in Hyderabad till July 27. The government has asked Mr. Hegde to report to the Urban Development department after training.
Mayor Mahabala Marla said that Mr. Prasanna had taken charge following a government order. He had sent him a copy of his taking charge and had informed him about it as the Mayor was in the Surathkal office of the civic body on Wednesday.
Mr. Marla said that he came to know about the afternoon’s development through his sources. “But those developments are not official. The government’s transfer order and Mr. Prasanna taking charge are on record,” the Mayor said.
