Maharashtra govt transfers 33 officials

In the meantime, “I have asked Irrigation Secretary R G Kulkarni to transfer all the 33 officials with immediate effect to non-executive posts,” the minister said. Charges against the engineers were brought by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, prompting then Irrigation Minister Mahadevrao Shivankar to order a probe by the Vigilance department.

In 1998, when Khadse took over the reins of the department, he asked Bhatia to conduct the inquiry. “Hazare wanted the inquiry to be conducted by Bhatia,” Khadseexplained.

In his report submitted to Khadse, Bhatia recommended suspension of all 33 officials five executive engineers, eight deputy engineers, 13 sectional engineers, six accountants and one clerk. He also advised a departmental inquiry against 21 officials in the Irrigation department. Justifying the notices to the officials, Khadse said the department was following the suspension procedure laid down under the Maharashtra Civil Service Rules. “If we suspend them without issuing a show-cause, they will move the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, which will defeat the purpose of the inquiry,” Khadse said.

The Irrigation Minister said the departmental inquiry would be completed within a time bound period and that the erring engineers would be dealt with as per the law.

In a letter to Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, Anna Hazare had alleged irregularities amounting to Rs 32 crore in the Irrigation department in 1995-96. Hazare submitted that though there were no floods in the region, divisionengineers had spent Rs 32 crore on “measures to tackle floods”.

Bhatia, in the course of his inquiry, discovered irregularities totalling Rs 71.65 lakh and held the officials at the helm of affairs directly responsible for the transgressions. The engineers were found to have travelled a distance of 278 km in a day, examined 70 works, sanctioned works without the consent of contractors and submitted evaluation reports without visiting the concerned sites.

Bhatia also detected several instances in which work orders were issued before the opening of tenders, work allotted involved funds in excess of the sanctioned amount, and division of work was carried out without the permission of the concerned authorities.

While Bhatia’s report has been welcomed by the alliance government, senior ministers are unhappy with what they call “the manner in which the Pune Divisional Commissioner leaked the report to the media.”

“We feel it was improper on the part of an official of the stature of Bhatia to leak thereport,” a BJP minister remarked.