Upalokayukta directs civic body not to transfer K. Mathai, who has been shunted out 6 times in 3 months in 2014 for being tough on the hoarding mafia in Bengaluru

While the 45th transfer of Haryana’s IAS officer Ashok Khemka has been grabbing national headlines, closer home, the transfer of a Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike official shows the fate of upright officers anywhere in India.

The civic body, which faces public wrath for its failure to do its job, be it managing garbage, checking dog menace or improving roads and pavements, has passed a resolution to transfer K. Mathai, Assistant Commissioner (Advertisement).

Mr. Mathai has been tough on the hoarding mafia in Bengaluru. Shunted out six times in three months in 2014, Mr. Mathai, an ex-serviceman and a KAS officer, complained to the Upalokayukta that a vindictive administration had held back his salary for four months.

He was retained in the BBMP only after Upalokayukta Subhash B. Adi intervened. The Upalokayukta, who was investigating into illegal hoardings, also directed the civic body not to transfer the KAS officer till the probe is completed.

Mr. Mathai got a taste of official and political hostility after he uncovered a land scam worth over Rs. 300 crore in the Mandya Urban Development Authority (MUDA). After a detailed report, the State government in 2014 transferred the case of alleged irregular allotment of MUDA sites to the CBI. Before that, Mr. Mathai was targeted by the sand mining mafia during his stint as Hassan tahsildar.

A case of pot calling the kettle black

Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy releasing an audio recording of a purported telephonic conversation between Kolar MLA Varthur Prakash and the then Mulbagal tahsildar Prakash a few days ago brings to mind a similar episode enacted by Mr. Kumaraswamy’s elder brother, H.D. Revanna, in Hassan.

A year ago, Hassan City Municipal Council Commissioner Krishnamurthy had shared an audio clip with the media, in which Mr. Revanna allegedly threatened to ‘repair him’ and get him transferred. Mr. Revanna, who is also the chairman of Hassan Milk Union, was upset with CMC Commissioner’s objections to construct a milk booth in a CMC area in the city. The incident had prompted many protests condemning the politician’s conduct.

On another occasion, Mr. Revanna, in a meeting on the availability of sand and building stones at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Hassan, had expressed anger against a tahsildar and warned him of calling people to set his official vehicle to fire. The meeting was chaired by none other than Mr. Revanna’s father, H.D. Deve Gowda. Senior officers of the district and reporters were witness to the incident.

A degree of success

Recently, Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar was at his best at the valedictory of the 15thVTU Inter-Collegiate Youth Fest at Belagavi. The Minister sought to inspire a large gathering of engineering students by giving them a pep talk on how to become globally competitive and successful with sheer hard work and dedication.

Getting a little autobiographical, Mr. Shivakumar, who runs the Global Academy of Technology in Bengaluru, described himself as an educationist by choice, an agriculturist by birth and a businessman and politician by profession. He said he tasted success as a student leader, representing the country at the 13th World Youth Festival at Pyongyang in North Korea in 1989. Plunging into electoral politics in 1985, he worked hard against early failures to win elections and was now a Cabinet Minister.

In spite of his successes, he said he was constantly nagged by the fact that he was not a graduate. And so, he got a degree from an open university in 2006, just to be able to proudly tell his wife and children that he does have a degree, after all.

Ramesh Kumar’s

angry again

Former Speaker of Legislative Assembly K.R. Ramesh Kumar, also MLA for Srinivaspur in Kolar district, often turns his ire against his own party. Mr. Kumar told journalists in Kolar recently, “I am not the slave of the Congress. Rather, I am the slave of the people. I am in the party just for an identity.”

Apparently, Mr. Kumar’s bitterness stems from the fact that he was denied a berth in the State Cabinet and also because his recommendations as the Chairman of Panchayat Reforms Committee have not been implemented. The committee had made 86 recommendations, but only two were accepted by the government. “I am very much upset by this,” Mr. Kumar said.

He has already resigned from three committees of the Legislative Assembly as the Chief Minister did not heed to his suggestions in the budget.

“If leaders need me, they will induct me as Minister. However, I don’t beg anyone for a Ministerial berth,” he said. He has also opposed pay hike for legislators.

“People who elect us are suffering from numerous problems. In such a situation, where was the need to increase the salaries. We ought to respond to the needs of people first,” was his remark.

Nagesh Prabhu,

Sathish G.T.,

Vijaykumar Patil,

and Vishwa Kundapura