Raman fails to make his man as District Collector of Dhamtari

            Raipur, August 24, 2008: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh has failed to make one of his confidants as the District Collector of Dhamtari even after issuing the order a fortnight ago. .

         Since model code of conduct is already in force in the poll bound state, with in an hour of transfer of two collectors, the Chief Secretary P Joy Oommen was informed on August 7 that the posting of three IAS officers was a clear violation of the order of the Election Commission, official sources said here today.

        Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh had, in fact, made his Deputy Secretary Rajpal

 Singh Tyagi as the District Collector of Dhamtari replacing T C Mahawar.

         Mahawar was shifted to Janjgir-Champa to replace Alok Awasthy.

      Awasthy was appointed as Deputy Secretary in Chief Minister’s secretariat looking into his skill as an administrator and also as the Jan Sampark man, they said.

     The model code of conduct, ahead of the likely November assembly election, was in force from July 15 and the Election Commission has put a ban on transfer of poll related officials, including the District Collectors who also functions as the district returning officers, hence the posting of the three IAS officers are violating that order of the Commission, the sources said.

      Hence some officers brought to the notice of the Chief Secretary that order of the Election Commission and said the model code of conduct was in force in the state and without taking prior approval of the Chief Election Commission transfer of election related officials can never be possible, they said.

     Finally bowing down before the commission directives, the Chief Minister asked his officials to obey the order of the commission, and thus failed to make his own choice official as the District Collector of Dhamtari, they said.

     Although the government had attempted to get the approval of the Election Commission to shift the three IAS officers but Tyagi has to wait for a little more time to handle a district, the sources said.