19 Chief Engineers neither here nor there

BENGALURU: The politics of one-upmanship between Public Works Department Minister H D Revanna and Irrigation Minister D K Shivakumar, which is rocking the coalition government, has left more than a dozen Chief Engineers in the lurch.

Last month, 19  Chief Engineers, including a few who were promoted from the rank of  Superintending Engineer, were transferred from the PWD  to the Water Resources Department.  But the tussle between the two powerful ministers has cut short the joy of promotions and new postings of these engineers. None of them was allowed to take charge in the Irrigation Department as the incumbents in these posts have not been moved.  While the impasse is being seen as an administrative lapse, there is more to it than meets the eye, say sources in the state bureaucracy.

According to sources, the transfers from the PWD have not gone down well with the Irrigation Minister as it is said to have been effected without taking him into confidence.“Shivakumar sees it as an attempt by  Revanna to dominate him. He is angry as he was not consulted before these officials were transferred to the Irrigation Department,” a source said.

Though the PWD is the mother department of Civil Engineers in government service, usually such transfers are effected after due diligence with the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), and also with the department to which the engineers are being transferred, in this case the Irrigation Department. It is said that this due diligence was not done in this case with Revanna having his way.

With no work, engineers run from pillar to post

The turf war between Revanna and Shivakumar had even figured in the first meeting of the coalition coordination and it is still simmering. These Chief Engineers are running from pillar to post to get their posting and are without work for almost a month now.

Meanwhile, some senior officials said to be close to Revanna, are said to be enjoying two plum posts. “The  Managing Director of Visvesvaraya Neeravari Nigam Ltd, for instance, is also enjoying the post of secretary of the Irrigation Department. There are two more cases like this,” a source said. The issue appears to have a much bigger dimension as three more cases of Chief Engineers, who were transferred to the BBMP but have been without work, have come to light.

As the differences between the Congress and JD(S) ministers over transfer of officials is posing trouble for the smooth functioning of the government, the issue is again likely to be taken up at the next meeting of the coalition committee.