Once team,Gadchiroli officers,collectors now at loggerheads

While the officers have complained of high-handedness by Patne,the latter has accused them opening a front against him for his not taking their “non-performance” kindly.

Though Badkelwar and Sharma didn’t respond to frequent calls,it is gathered that the collector had started taking the officials to task for their “non-performance”. Minister for Civil Supplies Anil Deshmukh earlier this week had ordered an inquiry against Badkelwar and Sharma for not collecting the PDS foodgrains for the district for the month of May.

“Five Food and Drugs inspectors in the district have in one year done only four cases of adulteration when they are supposed to do at least two cases every month. This has a backdrop of several complaints of food adulteration coming up in the district. I sought explanation from them about this. Is that harassment?” Patne asks.

Patne,who has won many awards for his performance as Nagpur’s additional municipal commissioner, similarly took district dairy development Officer R A Shinde to task for not attaining the target of distribution of 1,000 cows under the state government’s Vidarbha package. Shinde distributed only about 500 in four years. “No elections were held to the district-level federation of milk co-operatives. Only 13 out of 119 societies are functioning,collecting only 500 litres a day. It goes for chilling to Chandrapur and only 424 litres come back to the district,” Patne said.

“With so much of focus on Naxal-affected districts and so much of pressure for development,how can seeking performance be termed as high-handedness?” he asks.

Shinde has since been transferred to Parbhani.

The officers also mentioned in their complaint that district planning officer V M Gajbhiye had suffered paralytic attack due to pressure from Patne. Gajbhiye,however,told The Indian Express,that “there is nothing like that. I am under no burden. I don’t know how my name found a mention in it”.

Another officer Damodar Nanhe’s name also found a mention in the letter,saying he also suffered an attack. When asked,Nanhe said,“Yes,I had signed the letter which means I agree with its content.” Nanhe was sub-divisional officer at Aheri and has now been transferred as deputy collector (EGS) Chandrapur.

Asked about the unsavory controversy,divisional commissioner Gopala Reddy said,“I have heard both the sides and the matter will be sorted out soon. At times there are some serious issues about non-performance in a district like Gadchiroli,but problems can be solved peacefully and tactfully. We will soon do that.”