Burdwan, July 1: The RSP secretary here has been accused of occupying a government post flouting the rule that bars a political office-bearer from holding an office of profit.
Anjan Mukherjee has held the party post for the past six years and also been a Group C employee of the public works department at the same time.
The non-Left State Government Employees’ Federation first pointed out that the toll collector of the bridge across the Damodar at Telipukur, about 2 km from the town, should not have been there.
PWD minister and senior RSP leader Amar Chowdhury admitted that a government employee cannot hold a political post. “According to government rules, the toll collector cannot be the district secretary of a political party. I have sought a report,” he said.
State RSP secretary Debabrata Bandopadhyay was taken aback. “Has there really been a controversy involving our party secretary in Burdwan? I will speak to Anjan about it.”
Dhurjati Majhi, the district secretary of the employees’ federation, saw “gross irregularity” in Mukherjee’s dual role. “We will launch an agitation against it, a hunger strike, if necessary,” he said.
The union leader also alleged that people who are not PWD employees sometimes collect the toll and vehicles are often not given receipts.
The man in the centre of the storm, Mukherjee, declined comment on his twin posts, but denied the allegations against him relating to wrongdoing in the toll collection. “Many drive away without waiting for the receipt,” he said.
Chowdhury said he had also received reports of irregularities about appointment of people for collecting the toll and the way toll was being collected on Krishak Setu, 118 km from Calcutta. “We are trying to put an end to it.”
Tapas Maity, the PWD’s assistant engineer who oversees the toll collection, said: “We should be getting about Rs 4,500 from the bridge every day, but we get much less. An inquiry has begun.”
Additional district magistrate Debasish Basu promised “strong action, if the allegations are found to be true”.
