JOIN USPriyank Kharge goes after ‘tainted’ officials in RDPR department
Congress Ministers are under pressure to crack down on corruption which was a key poll plank the party used to register a big victory in the Assembly election.
Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge, who heads the vast Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department, is going after “tainted” officials after discovering a “cesspool” during his initial review meetings.
Priyank found that there are 155 cases of corruption against officials of the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd (KRIDL). These include Lokayukta cases and departmental inquiries, some pending for several years.
The minister has set a one-month deadline for these cases to see a logical end.
“Tainted officials keep coming back and occupying key positions. Some get a stay from the High Court against disciplinary action, which means that the government-empanelled advocates aren’t doing a great job,” Priyank told DH.
“If Lokayukta has recommended punishment in the form of decrements, it’s not strong enough a deterrent. I’ve asked officials to work out some checks and balances,” Priyank said, hinting at stronger action against scam-hit officers.
Pending cases of departmental inquiries have to be concluded within a month. The department has to ensure getting court-granted stays vacated, he added.
Priyank is also considering tweaks to streamline processes, involving transfers and tenders.
With an outlay of Rs 20,494 crore, RDPR is one of the state’s biggest departments in terms of finances and human resources, which makes it prone to corruption.
“Indiscriminate postings have been done among junior and assistant engineers. Some junior engineers have become more powerful than MLAs. Transfers have to be approved with proper reasons,” Priyank said, adding that he is thinking of introducing a counselling process to regulate the transfer of panchayat development officers (PDO).
The minister said he would look into cases where the tender process is “deliberately delayed” to benefit contractors.
In October 2018, as the social welfare minister then, Priyank blacklisted KRIDL from getting his department’s works.
At present, KRIDL enjoys exemption from the tender process to get works costing up to Rs 2 crore. “I’ve asked KRIDL to start bidding for bigger tenders and contracts. What’s the point in settling for the tender exemption?” Priyank said.
According to sources, Priyank is likely to make a case for withdrawing the tender exemption for KRIDL once the state-run agency becomes financially stable.