State delays IAS officer's suspension order

It has been almost three weeks since the Lokayukta police sent a report to the State government recommending suspension of IAS officer Shamla Iqbal, but the government seems to be dragging its feet over it.

This has given rise to speculation that the government might be unwilling to penalise the top ranking official.

Shamla Iqbal has been under the Lokayukta police scanner ever since she became the focus of an investigation being conducted into the irregularities in the implementation of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).

Two separate FIRs have been registered against the IAS officer, one for misconduct for her alleged involvement in the ICDS scam and another for possession of assets disproportionate to her income. While lower level officials are suspended for a single offence, the government seems to be intent on protecting her and is said to be sitting on the file recommending her suspension.

Shamla was transferred from her post of Director of Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) in January 2012.

She has not been given a posting since. On March 9, raids were conducted by the Lokayukta police on her residence and also the houses and offices of Deputy Director of DWCD, Usha Patwari, and Assistant Director Muniraju.

So far, only Muniraju has been suspended after an outcry over his promotion.

Usha Patwari has been removed from her post as Deputy  Director of ICDS, but she remains active as General Manager of Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation.Complaints against Shamla, during her tenure from August 2009 to January 2012, had been rampant with regard to the pilferage, mismanagement and misappropriation of funds allocated for the ICDS scheme, where a large component dealt with providing supplementary nutrition to children in anganwadis, pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescents.

The company supplying the food, Christy Friedgram Industries, is also under investigation for supplying substandard food, manipulating indent and supply and other misdemeanours in connivance with these officials.

It may be recalled the High Court, which has taken suo motu cognisance of deaths of children due to malnutrition in Raichur, had recently lashed out against the quality of food being supplied to anganwadis saying it was so poor that even cattle would hesitate to consume it.

Sources in the Lokayukta said that the chief secretary’s office had shown keen interest in receiving the letters recommending both Shamla Iqbal and Usha Patwari’s suspension, but has now suddenly gone silent on it, though the letter on Shamla Iqbal was sent on March 28.  A senior State government official claimed that the delay in issuing suspension orders against Shamla Iqbal was inadvertent and the orders were likely to be issued by Wednesday.