IAS office alleges Mins' intervention to help corrupt

Kerala cadre IAS officer Raju Narayana Swamy, against whom termination steps were reportedly being initiated by the Kerala government, has alleged that exposing various corrupt practices, including the illegal cutting of teak from Coconut Development Board's farm in Mandya, Karnataka, was the reason for the moves against him.

Mr Swamy, who was Coconut Development Board chairman, also alleged that Union Minister Sadananda Gowda had rung him up and asked not to take action against the corrupt.

A 1991-batch IAS officer, Mr Swamy had been in the news often for his non-compromising stand as well as the stand-off with the political leadership. It was learnt that the Kerala government gave an adverse report to the centre against him recently as part of the cadre review exercise.

Mr Swamy, who is an additional chief secretary rank officer, told the media in Kochi on Friday that while serving as chairman of the Coconut Development Board, he had unearthed massive corruption at the regional offices in Bengaluru and Kolkata.

Mr Swamy said that teak wood worth crores of rupees were illegally cut from the Mandya farm. "I probed into it as per a report of CBI and the CBI also chargesheeted the corrupt officials. Union minister Sadananda Gowda even called me and asked to withdraw from the move. He even forwarded to me a letter asking that the suspension of the key corrupt official Hemachandra should be revoked. I firmly rejected it," said Mr Swamy.

Mr Swamy, who was a first rank holder in the civil services examination, also said that his abrupt removal from the post as the chairman of the Coconut Development Board chairman before the completion of the two-year term of appointment was also the outcome of exposing corruption at the Coconut Development Board.

He was appointed in August 2018 and was removed in March. He had filed a petition at Central Administration Tribunal and was expecting final orders by July.

He said that the corrupt were fearing that he would further expose corruption if he continued in service and hence steps were being made to terminate him.

Meanwhile, the Kerala government was yet to respond to the reports regarding the adverse reports sent against Mr Swamy. Kerala chief secretary Tom Jose told media persons that he had no comments on the matter. Indiscipline was said to be the adverse reason cited against Mr Swamy.

Mr Swamy was one of the three officers hand-picked by the former chief minister of Kerala V S Achuthanandan for a major drive against land encroachments at Munnar tourist spots in Idukki district in 2007.