Transfer of former Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar from the post of Chief Resident Commissioner at New Delhi’s Tripura Bhavan to less important Guwahati Tripura Bhavan caused a ripple in the state administration.
It is not clear as to why Manoj Kumar was suddenly shifted to Guwahati, but according to sources, some of the activities of the former Chief Secretary were not as they should have been. While he was Chief Secretary, he failed to serve to the satisfaction of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb. He was reported to have delayed many important initiatives of the government with bureaucratic jargons and making matters complex. As his activities were found to be detrimental for welfare initiatives of the state government he was sent to New Delhi. But there also he failed to perform. It was then the state government decided to shift him to less important Guwahati where he would have nothing to do much.
Manoj Kumar was, however, not alone. The Chief Minister, sources said, was annoyed with some bureaucrats for time and again complicating matters instead of coming out with solutions to issues that needed solutions. They were also reported to have either been delaying government initiatives or bringing up unnecessary legal questions to discourage and hold up the files.
Such negative attitude not only affected the welfare endeavours and delayed project implementations but also appeared serious blocking stone for ruling dispensation’s political interests too.
“When the Chief Minister spoke in the TCS Officers’ Association meeting recently – and his speech became controversial -he only wanted to drive that point. He did not intend to make any contemptuous remark as far as High Court was concerned. His intention was to express his annoyance at the unnecessary and unwarranted legal questions that some of the bureaucrats keep on raising – for some reasons best known to them”, said an official.
He said, though the exact reasons for Manoj Kumar’s transfer was not known, it could be something like that too. And it – his transfer -also sent a message to others.
