Making profit from postings: Anosh Ekka and Kamlesh Singh

Ranchi, July 15: Transfer of executive engineers by drinking water and sanitation department and rolling back several of them within 24 hours should not come as a surprise in Jharkhand where parties, cutting across their divide, have been charged of openly demanding huge funds in such businesses.

What has surprised the bureaucratic circle is that an executive engineer was transferred thrice and finally asked to report at the headquarters on July 12, much after the deadline of June 30 set by the rules of executive business.

The department, according to sources, transferred as many as 35 executive engineers on June 28.

However, it revised the transfer of seven of them, all posted in key districts, on June 29.

Swetabh Kumar was first transferred from Dhanbad to Gumla as technical advisor on June 28.

The next day his transfer to Gumla was cancelled and shifted to Ranchi.

Bipin Bihari Sinha, the incumbent at Ranchi, was shifted to Hazaribagh.

However, the department again issued a notification on July 12, staying the transfer of Sinha and transferred Swetabh to the department headquarters.

The engineers said that the department’s notification on July 12 was issued in violation of the rules of executive business.

Drinking water and sanitation minister Chandra Prakash Chaudhary, however, defended the decision saying it was not a transfer order.

“We can always stay the transfers,” he claimed.

Chaudhary asserted that all the transfers were done at the recommendation of the establishment board.

He added that he had made a little bit of change only.

A.K. Basu, departmental secretary and a claimant for the chief secretary’s post, could not be contacted for his comments.

Under the rules of executive business, mass transfers are to be carried out twice in a year — first from May 1 to June 30 and second from November 1 to December 31.

However, the huge irregularities in the transfer-posting were not confined to Chaudhary’s departments alone.

Sources said rates are fixed for each post.

A close aide of water resources minister Kamlesh Singh openly demanded Rs 5 lakh to transfer an executive engineer from the non-works to the works department, said an official, on condition of anonymity.

Former chief minister Arjun Munda has also demanded a probe by the vigilance commissioner into these transfers.

The establishment board of the rural development department, headed by Anosh Ekka, recom- mended some 30 block development officers (BDOs) for transfers.

The minister, thereafter, was said to have added over 60 names to the board’s list.

The file is now pending at the office of the chief minister, who has to take a final decision.

Similarly, finance minister Stephen Marandi, according to sources, made 60 per cent changes in the recommendation by the establishment board to transfer the commercial taxes’ officers.

Under the rules, the mi- nisters can change the board’s recommendation up to 10 per cent, after providing logical reasons.

The transfer guidelines are framed in consultation with the ministers.

Significantly, the Jharkhand High Court has invariably chastised the ministers, including Anosh Ekka, for flouting the transfer rules.

The court had even asked the chief secretary to lodge cases against the ministers under the Cor- rupt Practices Act if the transfers are made on political considerations.