DSO moved on complaint

VADODARA, April 12: Even as D G Kachhar, deputy director, enforcement wing, State Civil Supplies department took charge as the District S...

VADODARA, April 12: Even as D G Kachhar, deputy director, enforcement wing, State Civil Supplies department took charge as the District Supply Officer on Monday, highly reliable official sources at the collectorate say District Supply Officer Ashok Singh8217;s abrupt transfer follows a complaint of out-of-turn allotment of three fair price shops to some Bharatiya Janata Party BJP members.

While Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh termed the transfer as routine, the sources said it was on basis of a complaint lodged by one M Parmar to the Minister that the District Supply Officer was shifted abruptly.

Department chief Arvind Agrawal, who was in Vadodara on Sunday, reportedly carried the orders in this regard. It is unusual that an official is transferred on a Sunday.

The sources said soon after he joined, the District Supply Officer expedited long-pending clearance of about 80 FP shops throughout the district. 8220;Licences were given to applicants as per rules and regulations by the panel, which also include MLAs. The panel met thrice and cleared the application8221;.

It was in the last panel meeting two months ago that a party alleged that licences were given to a few associated with BJP, the sources said.

Interestingly, MLA Bhupendra Lakhawala while admitting having learnt such allegations told Express Newsline that, 8220;Singh was a co-operative officer and had not done anything wrong even if he had helped party workers, provided their application was genuine8221;.

Kachhar, when contacted, said he was aware of the allegations against his predecessor and that he would look into them after the ongoing employees8217; strike. Singh refused to comment on charges insisting 8220;an inquiry would prove his fairness or foul functioning8221;.

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DSO Singh, during his about a year8217;s stint here, had registered cases against 963 shopkeepers, most of them of FP shops, kerosene distributors, cleared 655-old cases, seized civil supply items worth about Rs 1 crore, slapped fines worth Rs 1.8 crore, suspended and cancelled 39 and 18 licences, respectively, besides sending nine defaulters under Prevention of Black Marketing Act PBM to jail.