SSPA plans to take action against R Fefar.
The Sardar Sarovar Punarvasahat Agency (SSPA), a body responsible for resettlement and rehabilitation of people affected by Sardar Sarovar Project in Gujarat, is mulling disciplinary action against its superintendent engineer Rameshchandra Fefar who has reported to work for only 16 days in the last eight months. In reply to a showcause notice that was issued to him on May 15, Fefar has stated that he is the “Kalki avatar of Lord Vishnu” and usually remains in “fifth dimension” which makes it impossible for him to be physically present in office.
The bizarre explanation came to light on Friday, when Fefar submitted his reply to a showcause notice issued to him by SSPA Commissioner Shahmeena Hussain. A resident of Rajkot, Fefar has also claimed that the reason for not attending the office was that he was too busy meditating to “prevent drought” in the country.
The showcause notice issued to Fefar on May 15, stated, “Since September 22, 2017, you have been irregular at work. Except for the (16) days listed below in the last eight months, you have been absent from work at your own will and without any official intimation. This behaviour is unbecoming of a government official. The projects of the department are in final stages and your absence has resulted in no supervision or direction to the other workers, thus leading to delays and detrimental effects to the projects.”
In his reply, dated May 17, Fefar, who was sent on deputation to the department in September 2017, said, “I am an avatar of Lord Vishnu’s tenth avatar of Kalki. I live in the fifth dimension (interstellar) space for my devotions, through which I execute works of bringing about a change in the world consciousness. I am unable to carry out these works by sitting in office, and therefore I cannot be present physically in office.” He also attached an annexure with the reply. The annexure, which begins with a salutation of ‘Jai Maa’ is a discourse on anti-God forces working to prevent him from completing the vows to keep India drought-free.
Fefar claimed that instances of dams in Gujarat overflowing have been due to his “devotions”. “In 2013, 2016 and 2017, Maa Jagdamba saved us from drought thrown at us by anti-God. On September 10, 2013, Maa sent me to Somnath for continuous meditation for two nights and three days in the temple, after which, anti-God entered my wife’s body to fight with me, but I did not give it importance. On the evening of September 13, 2013, Maa asked me to bathe in the light rain in order to turn it into a spell of heavy showers that could fill up all the dams. According to Maa’s orders, I completed the commitment…. On September 14, Maa ordered me to visit the Jog mountains and offer obeisance to the Shivling and challenged me that if I am the avatar of Devdasbapu Shivji, then the Macchu-2 Dam must fill up to half its capacity within two days. But anti-God worked against me and succeeded. My vow could not be completed in two days, but on the tenth day it was attained, and Macchu Dam overflowed instead of filling up to just half its capacity.”
Fefar reasons that such “devotions” cannot be executed while being present in a government office. He wrote, “I cannot execute such important tasks that require dedication and meditation by sitting in office. Therefore, I do not physically remain present in office. Is it important for me to be physically present in the office…or is it important that I stay at home and ensure that no drought hits the country?… I am the Kalki avatar and I have made this possible, because I have established satyug since September 16, 2012.”
The Indian Express tried contacting Fefar, but the officer chose to communicate through text messages and WhatsApp.
Fefar shared a series of documents, including a discourse of his “becoming Kalki avatar”, his establishing of satyug, a police statement and a document titled, ‘Publicity stunts by Modi’.
While the police statement was not addressed to any particular police station or acknowledged by any department, it was a self-confession of Fefar having physically assaulted his wife six times for refusing to chant devotional slogans to “keep away anti-God forces”. “Now, due to the fear, she chants the devotions and is free from anti-God forces,” he said.
Fefar also claimed that one of his messages sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “show him the mirror” in November 2016 reduced him to tears during a speech in Goa.
In his service record, Fefar has stated that he holds a Masters degree in engineering from MS University of Vadodara and has been a civil engineer in the Government of Gujarat since his direct recruitment in 1990. He was promoted as superintendent engineer (civil) in 2005 and has been associated with the Narmada project as a structural design engineer on Saurashtra Branch Canal. In 2005, he claims to have been an executive engineer for quality control work in the earthquake restoration work in Kutch.
“This officer was posted in SSPA on deputation by the government in September 2017 for supervising engineering work. It is considered to be a post on par with IAS…We have treated his period of absence as an unauthorised absence, since he had no permission from the Commissioner. His reply, of course, is not acceptable. The commissioner will now decide about the action against him after submitting a report to the Water Resources Department, which had sent him on deputation here,” Deputy Collector (Revenue) Nilesh Dubey said.