The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Collector takes tough line on posting

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Collector takes tough line on posting

Special Correspondent

Panchayat Secretaries take to the streets Panchayat Secretaries take to the streets demanding lifting of suspension orders

ON THE WARPATH: Panchayat Secretaries staging a demonstration on the premises of the Collectorate in Visakhapatnam on Monday.

VISAKHAPATNAM: The District Collector, Praveen Prakash, made it clear to panchayat secretaries here on Monday that disciplinary proceedings against 150 of them would be considered only if they committed in writing that they would stay at their places of work.

Panchayat secretaries launched an agitation demanding that the Collector withdraw the suspension orders, organised a procession in the city and later conducted a dharna in front of the Collectorate as the Spandana (weekly public grievances redressal programme) was going on.

They refused to talk to the District Panchayat Officer and the Administrative Officer of the Collectorate, who went to meet them and later moved into the conference hall where Mr. Praveen Prakash was holding the Spandana programme with the Joint Collector, Sandeep Kumar Sultania, and other officials.

The Collector heard the president of the District Panchayat Secretaries Association, Eerla Srirama Murthy, who charged the former with being harsh and undemocratic.

But Mr. Murthy could not prove his allegation that Mr. Praveen Prakash harshly had told a delegation of Panchayat Secretaries on June 16 "to get lost'' when counselling for the Secretaries was held. After a long explanation, Mr. Murthy conceded that the Collector only said that they need not come to him repeatedly to talk about the same issue.

Firm stand

The Collector did not budge from his stand that the Panchayat Secretaries should stay at their places of work. The cases of suspended persons would be considered if they all submitted affidavits that they would stay at their places of work. If this condition was not accepted, each case would be reviewed individually.

``But those staying elsewhere to take care of businesses, to oversee agricultural operations on their lands, etc., would not be pardoned. I know some of you operate lorries, do real estate business, etc. We have not suspended the Panchayat Secretaries facing ACB cases in spite of a possibility of facing criticism that we are shielding you,'' he said.

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