Efforts on to cover-up faux pas of bureaucrats in DK

The stage is all seems to be set to hush up the faux pas committed by the bureaucrats in Dakshina Kannada in conducting elections for the posts of taluk panchayat presidents and vice presidents. 

A day after Deccan Herald published a report on the blunder committed by bureaucrats - ‘Polls for TP posts in DK held before final notification’ - the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department has made no move to enquire into the issue, rather has defended the fault. 

The election to the post of five TP presidents and vice presidents was conducted in the district even before the publication of new gazette notification. 

If the new notification with the revised reservation roster was published in the RDPR website on June 18, the election for all five TPs in DK were conducted between June 6 and June 16. 

The election was conducted based on the government’s reservation roster draft notification that was issued calling for public objections on April 16.

 If election for Mangalore TP was held on June six, it was followed by Bantwal TP on June nine, Puttur TP on June 12, Sullia TP on June 14 and Belthangady TP on June 16. 

The assistant commissioners of Puttur and Mangalore sub division had conducted the election as per the deputy commissioner’s order. 

Reservation roster 

The offence gains more significance due to the change in reservation roster in the draft and final notification. 

If the first notification had reserved the post of Bantwal taluk panchayat president to Backward Class (A) category candidate, in the final notification the post has been reserved for Backward Class (A) woman candidate.

 With the election held in advance, Yashwanth Deraje has taken charge as the president of Bantwal TP, while in reality the post is reserved for a woman candidate.

Bantwal Taluk Panchayat former vice president Anand Shambhoor said that the members were not aware of the matter. 

“I have only seen the reservation roster notification that was published on April 16 and did not know that a fresh notification has been issued this month,” he said.

Attempt to cover up?

RDPR Principal Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar who had on Thursday told Deccan Herald that he was not aware of the issue and would ‘look into it,’ on Saturday negated any blunder committed by bureaucrats in conducting elections. 

“There is nothing like final notification. Both the notifications have equal footing,” he said. When asked about the change in reservation roster in the notification issued last week, he said “there was no change and everything is alright.”