Petition against transfer of DC, MCC commissioner

A people’s initiative has been launched against the possible transfer of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Abhiram G Sankar and Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Commissioner Gurudutt Hegde.

A few prominent citizens of the city have forwarded a petition to the chief secretary of the state government T M Vijay Bhaskar urging him not to transfer the two officials of Mysuru before they complete the stipulated tenure. They have launched an online petition on http://chng.it/LwRnD7LT2t to seek people’s support.

Those who have signed the petition submitted to the chief secretary are: S Shobana, Ashvini Ranjan, K Venkatesh, U B Acharya, Bapu Satyanarayan, Maj Gen (retired) K K Murthy, S Diwakar, G Narasimha Murthy and Bhamy Shenoy.

The petition reads, “It is with great urgency and earnestness we urge you not to transfer the current Deputy Commissioner Abhiram Shankar and MCC Commissioner Gurudutt Hegde. While the former has served in Mysuru for less than 18 months, the latter has been in Mysuru for less than six months”.

“We submit our appeal in the context of the Supreme Court judgment of 2013, on the transfer policy. It states: 'Postings and transfers are made frequently at the whims and fancies of the executive head for political and other considerations and not in public interest'. The SC passed the judgement against an appeal on frequent transfers by 83 retired IAS officers like Abid Hussain, T S R Subramanian and N Gopalswami. In the landmark judgment, the apex court ordered the constitution of a Civil Service Board to guide the government on transfer policy. According to such a board, an IAS officer can be transferred only after serving two years,” the petition reads.

“More than the need to comply with the two-year rule, we want to reiterate the well-accepted management wisdom that any officer will be unable to serve efficiently if he or she is transferred frequently. Having served as DC in Mysuru, Sankar has taken steps to save the Kukkarahalli Lake and Chamundi Hill. Hegde has strived to improve property tax collection, to keep the city clean and green, to preserve lakes, etc. If the officers are transferred now, the initiatives taken up by them will suffer,” the petition reads.

Shenoy said, it has to be noted that the new government transferred Sankar on Gajapayana Day, before the start of Dasara. “However, he was retained as his transfer would affect Dasara, the Naadahabba or state festival, conducted on a large scale in Mysuru. It is suspected that officials will be transferred after the counting of the votes of the bypoll. But, we want them to continue here, in the interest of the people,” he said.