Shivakumar asks Chief Secretary not to transfer water resource dept engineers without informing him

    Bengaluru, May 29 (PTI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said that he has written to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh not to transfer any engineer from water resource department, a portfolio that he holds, without informing him.
    Speaking to reporters here, Shivakumar said, "We don’t have many engineers in the Water Resources Department. We urgently need engineers. Hence, I have written a letter to the Chief Secretary asking not to relieve or send any engineer elsewhere from our department".
    The Deputy CM said the engineers join the water resource department, get promoted and then get transferred to other departments including Public Works and Zilla Panchayat.
    When asked who made the transfer without his permission, he said, "There is a scope for making such transfers at the top level. I won’t say that such scopes are not there. That’s why I am saying that many MLAs put pressure to send engineers to other departments."
    Shivakumar was aggrieved that engineers were not coming forward to work in the irrigation department.
    "I have told the Chief Secretary not to transfer anyone without bringing it to my attention," he told reporters.
    In the letter to the Chief Secretary, Shivakumar said that he had clearly stated soon after the formation of the government that if an order is to be issued regarding matters such as transfers, appointments, related to his department, the order should be done after obtaining his prior approval.
    "But recently, it has come to my notice that some Chief Engineers have been transferred to the Water Resources Department without obtaining my approval. I object to the order being issued ignoring my instruction," Shivakumar said.
    "Therefore, I hereby instruct that the said order should be withdrawn immediately and that my prior approval should be obtained if any order is to be issued regarding such matters," he added.
    Reacting to it, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said, "These are mere indications. For sure, major changes in the state politics are in the offing. These developments are prelude to the climax."
    He also linked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s visit to senior Congress leader and MLC B K Hariprasad’s residence on Thursday morning with the "changing equations" in the state.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)