Mass transfer of tahsildars sparks talk of civic polls

According to local talks, the move appears to be a prequel to the court ordering the state government to conduct the local body polls. “The government might have taken this action to show some sort of administrative cleanliness,” said an official on anonymity.

BDOs, who are in charge of rural development, were the first to feel the heat as they were transferred on Wednesday, that is a day after the HC order. 

Earlier, Collector Raman’s inspection of the BDO office at Madanur had revealed large scale corruption in various state and central government schemes. In fact, some officials were earlier issued charge memos by their superiors, while local contractors complained of long-standing arrears despite submission of bills. The large-scale absence of ‘M books’ (which record all government work-related details) was the last straw. The malpractices were noticed during the tenure of Mohan as the BDO of Madanur. The Collector suspended Mohan on Wednesday (a day after his retirement).

On the transfer of tahsildars, official sources said, “There is nothing special about it as six incumbents had completed their terms and were due to be shifted. The recent retirement of the Vellore Collectorate’s Huzur Sirathdar, office manager in local parlance, also necessitated the filling up of the post. Therefore, the transfers were necessary.”

Moreover, the district administration released the list of transferred tahsildars late at night. Orders were sent to each individual’s e-mail due to the fear that if a common list was released, senior officials would move the court if plum posts were given to juniors, official sources said.