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Farm wing honcho’s style irks staff
Farm wing honcho’s style irks staff. At a time when Telangana State is heading towards a farming crisis, the Agricultural Department is ridden with internal bureaucratic level feuds that are having avoidable adverse effects on the administrative functioning of the department.
ADMINISTRATIVE WORK SUFFERS
Hyderabad: At a time when Telangana State is heading towards a farming crisis, the Agricultural Department is ridden with internal bureaucratic level feuds that are having avoidable adverse effects on the administrative functioning of the department.
The most directly hit farm-related works include enumeration of the crops sowed in the present Kharif season and the impact of the prevailing drought on the farming activity.
The department officials have been at loggerheads with the Head of the Department, G D Priyadarshini, over the latter’s ‘stringent decisions’ taken since assuming office in January.
The decisions, which the officials allege were unilateral, relate to regular monitoring and evaluation of officials work productivity, making submission of expenditure incurred on farming activity mandatory and on a monthly basis and tracking field officials and their visits to villages.
Each of these measures drew flak and strong opposition from the officials. Official sources said that the initial ‘bonhomie’ between the head of the department and her immediate subordinates ended one month after the 2002 Batch IAS official took charge.
“The decisions taken by her with regard to the functioning of the officials did not go well in the department,” a senior official said. He pointed out that there was undeclared war for the last seven months, with the subordinates open defiance by way of ‘non-cooperation’.
The recent suspension of the two officials in the head office by the Director triggered another row forcing the employees to boycott their duties for two days, although they were attending the office.
The continuous survey on crops pattern and impacts of drought on the farming activity during Kharif stand suspended, as a result of the cold vibes. The crop coverage report, which is crucial in the end of the farming season, has not prepared so far.
Peeved at the sordid going on, Priyadarshini complained to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and sought Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma to relieve her from the post immediately. Taking serious note of the issue, the Chief Minister entrusted Principal Secretary, Agriculture, C Pardhasarathi to sort out the issue immediately and amicably.
To scuttle the IAS official’s moves, the employees wrote a letter to the Agriculture Minister P Srininivas Reddy to transfer Priyadarshini and appoint another senior official. Insiders say that one has not heard the last on this issue.
By Patan Afzal Babu
