Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Commissioner Shilpa Nag, who announced her resignation from the Indian Administrative Service on Thursday, said she would be returning to duty from Sunday, pending the acceptance of her resignation. She had resigned alleging harassment by Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri.
Ms. Nag said she met Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar, in the presence of Regional Commissioner G.C. Prakash, at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) in Mysuru on Friday and presented a hard copy of her resignation. “My senior colleagues advised me to take time off and reconsider my decision. They didn’t accept the resignation,” she said.
Letters sent
“I took time off today. But I sent my resignation letter again today by e-mail as well as registered post to the Chief Secretary. Pending its acceptance, I have decided to continue work so that there is no problem for the city,” Ms. Nag said.
She also chose to respond to the explanation sought by Ms. Sindhuri on the CSR (corporate social responsibility) aid coming in from private companies. Contending that Ms. Sindhuri’s statement on the matter was “misleading”, Ms. Nag, in a statement, claimed that the “allegations that the CSR report was not furnished are completely false”.
The MCC Commissioner had been appointed as district nodal officer for CSR based on an order issued by the Deputy Commissioner on May 7. But, after the MCC Commissioner was removed as the nodal officer on June 1, all the undistributed items were handed over the Deputy Director of the Palace Board, the new nodal officer, Ms. Nag said. “A comprehensive report listing all the items received has also been submitted,” she said in the statement.
Protocol issue
Meanwhile, questions have been raised in official circles about whether Ms. Nag ought to have announced her resignation at a press conference amid high drama, instead of following the standard procedure.
Sources said there were set rules and a format to submit one’s resignation, and announcing it at a press conference was definitely not one of them. “Seeking accounts or calling for details is routine and there is pressure on every government official to deliver as it is a battle against a pandemic. Hence, nothing warranted taking such an extreme step,” an official source said.
