Ranchi, March 28: The tussle between the chairman and his deputy at the Ranchi Regional Development Authority (RRDA) has reached a point of no return with the chairman, R.N. Tiwary, a political appointee ?from outside the state? demanding that the vice-chairman, Mahesh Prasad Sinha, be replaced.

Tiwary, who was opposed by local BJP leaders who felt that one of them should have been given the office, has written to the chief secretary demanding the removal of Sinha from his present post. Tiwary followed it up with a reminder on March 27.

While the chairman has blamed Sinha for the sorry state of affairs at RRDA, the vice- chairman told The Telegraph that he would welcome an inquiry.

The chairman, he hinted, wanted him to act for the former?s personal gain in matters of appointment and contracts while he himself, Sinha claimed, was merely implementing government instructions. Tiwary first spoke to the chief secretary, followed it up with his letters and has claimed that he is being threatened.

One of the more serious charges he has levelled against Sinha is to manipulate the sanction and release of Rs 25 lakhs to a firm, IL&FS, for the development of Birsa Munda bus stand here, although a sum of Rs 16 lakh had already been paid to M/S RITES for the job.

Sinha was not forthcoming with details but simply claimed that the decision to pay the amount to IL&FS was taken by the cabinet and as a government servant he was duty-bound to implement it. He also added righteously that he would not do anything ?wrong? or in the personal interest of anyone.

BJP circles claimed that Tiwari was a tantrik who was close to the son of a senior BJP leader in New Delhi. It was at the behest of this senior BJP leader that the state government was obliged to appoint him as chairman, they said.

In his letter to the chief secretary, Tiwary claimed to have visited a few slums in the state capital and found them unworthy of even pigs.

Alleging that the RRDA, under Sinha, had neglected slum development, Tiwary alleged that the vice-chairman refuses to follow his instructions.

The chairman has further complained that Sinha has been strutting around and claiming that he need not care for anybody since he was there by virtue of a court order. It would be advisable, therefore, to post a senior IAS officer to the RRDA as the vice-chairman, wrote Tiwary.

Sinha denied the charge that he had threatened Tiwary. On the contrary, he claimed to have posted two security guards for the chairman in addition to a house guard.