Mangalore: City commissioner shunted out - Will DC and SP be Next in Line?
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Jul 11: Corporation commissioner Samir Shukla, who was brought to the City Corporation as commissioner to provide a semblance of discipline and order to the City Corporation’s functioning, besides for the belief that an IAS officer would be able to steer the Corporation administration on the right track. Within a few months of taking charge, he was transferred. Sources say, the fact that he was bold and strict, the qualities he was expected to display in his post, were the reasons for his fall from the grace of those who matter most.
Sameer Shukla, Ponnuraj and S Rao
It has not remained a secret, that hard lobbying is going on for the transfer of Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner Ponnuraj and superintendent of police Subrahmanyeshwar Rao. Ponnuraj, who is in Mussoorie for undergoing a training programme, will spend two more weeks in a training session in USA. If sources are to be believed, behind-the-scene activities are going on at a brisk pace, to ensure that he is replaced before he completes the training and rejoins for duties here. It is gathered, that some people want Chennappa Gowda, who earlier worked as the commissioner of Mangalore Urban Development Authority(MUDA), to be brought in Ponnuraj's place. Chennappa Gowda, who earlier was a KAS officer, was recently promoted to the IAS grade.
It is learnt that Ponnuraj confided with close ones that he doubts about the chances of his coming back to the district as the DC after the training. There are rumours, that Ponnuraj's strict stance on the utilization of the local area development grants of the MPs and MLAs has earned the wrath of the concerned. He reportedly has stuck to the stand that the grants can be used only for the development projects and not for the renovation or building of religious centres. Knowing that Ponnuraj is a no-nonsense officer, some people had tried to stop his posting to the district, however as it was election time, he came here just before the elections. His strict handling of the election-related matter is the other issue which has not gone down well with the powers that be.
District superintendent of police Subrahmanyeshwar Rao, who succeeded to a great extent in bringing to book several underground criminals and rowdies in the district, is the other man expected to be sent out of the district. However, the anger of the lobbyists emanates from the fact that he does not toe their line. It is also rumoured that the SP's reluctance to frame dummy criminals is also one of the issues that the people in positions of power are not happy with. The demand for his transfer gained momentum after he allegedly refused to permit the opening of a club in Karangalpady in spite of the pressure exerted by politicians.
The post vacated by Samir Shukla remains vacant, even after several transfer lists that came out during the last one month. MUDA commissioner P G Ramesh is now working as the in-charge commissioner and there are efforts to retain him in the Corporation. Sources in the Corporation said that some people have been throwing their weight behind Gurudevappa or Vijayaprakash for this post.
It is not a secret that a well-meaning MLA of the ruling party was behind the appointment of Shukla to the post of the Corporation commissioner here. People also feel a remarkable drop in the execution of road works and inefficiency in the administration of the City Corporation after Shukla left.