Jamshedpur, July 4: Carve out a district and then forget all about it.
Formed after the division of West Singhbhum over two years ago, development work in the new district of Seraikela-Kharsawan is being managed by a handful of officials. It also happens to be the district from where chief minister Arjun Munda contests the elections.
The reason: no posts in different departments have been created by the government for the district which came into existence on April 30, 2001. Officials from either West Singhbhum or East Singhbhum, the two neighbouring districts of Seraikela-Kharsawan, manage the affairs of the district. They make trips to Seraikela-Kharsawan to oversee the work going on there.
Deputy commissioner Dhirendra Mishra, who took charge of the district some time ago, has sent an SOS to the government for creating nearly a dozen posts to speed up the development process.
Mishra has recommended the immediate creation of the posts of education officer, superintendent of education, animal husbandry officer, agricultural officer, civil surgeon, assistant district civil surgeon, executive engineer (building), executive engineer (roads), mining officer, excise superintendent, jail superintendent and transport officer.
Apart from the deputy commissioner, Seraikela-Kharsawan has a deputy development commissioner, subdivisional officer and a special officer of the local municipality to monitor the progress of projects. There are a few deputy collectors to assist the senior functionaries.
An official in the district administration admitted that Seraikela-Kharsawan was suffering because of the lack of officials. “Unless the posts are created and officials appointed, it would be difficult for the district administration to speed up the development process. It is very difficult for any one to look after the work of so many departments,” he said.
Seraikela-Kharsawan is a large district comprising eight blocks. “Unless officers are appointed it will become increasingly difficult to keep tabs on the projects,” the official said.
