Transfers of 22 agri officers in 3 months raise suspicion

Mumbai: In violation of the notifications issued by the general administration department regarding transfers, 22 agriculture officers (class B) have been transferred to their preferred locations in less than three months.

On January 30, a total of 60 agriculture supervisors (class C) were promoted to the post of agriculture officers (class B), and were posted as per to the notifications dated April 28, 2015, and June 15, 2017, which order postings on rotation, with preference to Vidarbha and Marathwada.

The areas of postings start with Nagpur, followed by Amaravati, Aurangabad, Nasik, Konkan 1, Konkan 2 and Pune.

According to the notifications, the posting location received to the officer on promotion cannot be changed in less than one year. Even after a year, it will be changed only through mutual transfer, or in case the officer is suffering from six of the diseases listed in the notifications.

On April 21, as many as 22 officers of the 60, majority of whom were stationed in Vidarbha, were transferred to the locations where they were posted before promotion.

The transfers raise suspicion. “This is unprecedented, and clearly shows there has been manipulation of service rules, with little regard to the administrative orders. A probe should be conducted against all the officers involved and those who cleared the transfers,” an officer, who shared the documents, told The Hindu.

Ironically, the notification on 2015 aims at increasing the number of officials in backward regions such as parts of Vidarbha and Marathwada. “The basic principle of it has been violated,” the officer said.

Further, 15 officers from the list were posted in different parts of Vidarbha, but have opted out. “This has to be challenged. Service rules cannot be manipulated in this manner,” the officer said.