He has a good hold on staff to hold the additional charges: Commissioner SMC
Srinagar, Oct 02: Making all the key decisions subservient to a blue eyed officer, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) is alleged to have been high jacked by a single person, while the concerned officers feel sidelined to disperse their duties and use the powers entrusted to them.
This is in contradiction to the clear cut directions of Commissioner Secretary Urban Development to keep the said officer away from any sensitive positions, after a former Commissioner SMC, wrote to him about alleged six fake appointments made by the said tainted officer, who in the fresh move has been gifted with the post of twin posts of secretary and chief enforcement officer SMC.
Sources told news agency Kashmir Dot Com-(KDC) that the said officer has all along been in the good books of higher ups, for reasons better known to them and has thus been able to rise from the post of Ward Officer to the most sensitive position of Secretary SMC, on the basis of support of higher ups, which they said that he was capable of garnering support and patronage to get to the top most sensitive position of Secretary SMC.
Not only the post of secretary, the officer has succeeded in getting additional charges in past and even today he has been given the charge of Chief Enforcement Officer, supposed to be the most lucrative position.
In past, according to sources the officer has held three charges, which include Chief revenue Officer, Chief Sanitation officer and Nodal Officer Swatch Bharat Abhiyan, despite the fact that there was no dearth of competent officers in the Corporation, who were ignored and instead a 10+2 Ward Officer was showered with multiple charges, for the reasons better known to the authorities, who were kind to him, beyond what he was deserving.
The said officer is said to be calling the shots in the Corporation, while the deserving and competent officers feel ignored, left behind and having been cut to size.
An insider on the condition of anonymity said that the Joint Commissioner SMC is for name sake, as most of his orders are being bypassed by the Secretary of the corporation.
Sources said that there is lot of hidden resentment within the majority of the officers of the Corporation, who feel choked and helpless, due to the patronage and cover the present Secretary is enjoying.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Gazzanfar Ali, while reacting to the above said allegations told that the officer in question was holding the charge of Secretary SMC, quite before his posting as Commissioner.
He said, “Regarding his seniority, juniority or eligibility for the post of Secretary, I do not have any knowledge about that, since the person has been there quite long before I assumed the charge of Commissioner SMC.”
He said, “As far as the matter of entrusting him with the additional charge of Chief Enforcement Officer (CEO) is concerned, we had huge problems in the city, in the shape of illegal constructions, which only he could help in dealing with.”
“He has a good hold on ward officers, which the earlier CEO was lacking and therefore we have sent him on leave for 10 days and gave the additional charge of CEO to the Secretary, who has proved beneficial to remove illegal constructions and to check deviations from the approved permissions,” Gazzanfar Ali said.
He said, “Though entrusting him (Secretary) with the additional charge of CEO has proved beneficial in dealing with illegal constructions in the city, as he has a very good hold on the ward officers, but it is a temporary arrangement.”
“Once we are done with the job of removing illegal constructions in the city and deviations to the approved permissions by the builders, some other officer will be given the charge of Chief Enforcement Officer,” he added. (KDC)
