ZP officers blamed for return of govt grants

CEO pulls up department officers for delayed implementation of development programmes.

B S Shekharappa, chief executive officer of the Zilla Panchayat, took officers of various departments to task at the progress review meeting on Friday, blaming them for misuse of government grants.

“If the various development projects had been implemented according to the plans, the money would not have been returned to the government.

Lakhs of rupees have been returned because of the negligence and lack of diligence in officers,” he said and threatened the officers that ‘they would have to fund the projects themselves now.’

Delay in projects

Shekharappa questioned Venkatarama, joint director of the Agriculture Department, on the purchase of machines and implementation of the Suvarna Bhoomi project. “Action plans for the project were readied in August last year. Then why have you delayed the implementation?” he asked.

When Venkatarama tried to attribute the delay to some of the junior officers, Shekharappa objected. “Don’t blame junior officers. You are responsible for the working of the entire Department and are expected to bring complete information about the Department to the meeting,” he told the joint director.

Construction of school

Shekharappa questioned officers of the Department for Public Instruction on why government land for schools was not utilised properly. “Schools are being constructed at random plots. The buildings of the government schools are all situated in different places, like separate islands. The schoolchildren have to struggle to go from one building to another,” he said.

He added that the engineers hired by the Department officers do not know how to plan the construction. “Also, nobody from the Department, including the deputy director, visits the sites when the construction is on,” he accused.

M V Krishnappa, president of the ZP, told the officers to take care no development work comes to a standstill. “It is important that you visit the entire district, not just the headquarters, but every village, to learn about the problems. Pay particular attention to the problems of remote corners of the district,” he instructed them.

Bagepalli hospital

Krishnappa also questioned Dr Bhaktavatsalam, the district health and family welfare officer, about the condition of the government hospital in Bagepalli.

“Patients are forced to sleep on the floor, below roofs that seem about to collapse. Have you ever paid a visit to the hospital and checked the condition there?” he asked.

Krishnappa told the officer to ensure the hospital is repaired immediately. “Otherwise, provide alternative facilities to patients,” he instructed.

Standing committee chairpersons S N Chinnappa, Amaravathi Krishnappa and Manjula Venkatesh were also present.