Bypassing Chandan invited axe on bureaucrat!

Fresh revelations about Rs 9.63 crore Rangiya scheme as Irrigation minister defends action against Additiol Chief Secretary

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Oct 10: In a fresh twist to the Additiol Chief Secretary TY Das-Irrigation minister Chandan Sarkar row, there are new revelations which indicate that the senior bureaucrat had invited the ire of the minister by "bypassing him" on official matters.

Official sources said that the tiff between the senior bureaucrat and the minister was sparked off during approval of irrigation schemes for Rangiya worth Rs 9.63 crore.

The sources alleged that the Additiol Chief Secretary had herself approved the schemes without the consent of the minister.

"She then sent the files for appraisal to the minister through the secretary. This angered the minister, who immediately took up the matter with the Chief Minister, besides writing a dissent note to the Chief Secretary," the sources said.

Before this incident, the Additiol Chief Secretary had lodged a written complaint with the Chief Minister, alleging that files of the Irrigation department were not coming to her. Following the complaint, the Chief Minister had written to the Irrigation minister asking him to keep the Additiol Secretary in the loop on official matters. This action of the senior bureaucrat had also annoyed the Irrigation minister who felt that if she had any grievances she could have taken it up with him.

When contacted, Irrigation minister Chandan Sarkar said, "I have nothing against any officer. As a minister we are given certain powers. The bureaucrats have their limitations and they should remain within it. If I tell them (officers) to do anything illegal, they can openly refuse it. But they cannot bypass a minister. I have all the documents…anyone can come and see who is on the wrong foot."

TY Das was on October 6 relieved of the Irrigation department after she put a request with the Chief Secretary. However, another source said that the Irrigation minister had urged the Chief Minister to relieve her from his department.