Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao cracks the whip on officials

Hyderabad: After the reality check during his four-day camp at Warangal, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has begun an exercise to tone up the administration.

Almost immediately after his return, Mr Rao reshuffled the bureaucracy, replacing, among others, Warangal collector Kishan with V. Karuna.

Sources said some senior TRS functionaries had been giving a good certificate to Mr Kishan.

But when Mr Rao went to Warangal, he was literally hounded by the poor who were demanding pensions and were complaining of denial of welfare measures. He also had to hear a number of complaints regarding lack of basic facilities.

A senior TRS leader said, “The CM’s four-day visit to Warangal proved to be a big eye- opener. He got a feel of the harsh realities at the ground level regarding the implementation of welfare schemes, non-availability of basic facilities and other problems.”

This is not the first time that Mr Rao has shunted out an IAS officer following complaints. Hours after he pulled up officials for delaying permission to multinational companies, he transferred Mr Neerabh Kumar out from his post as HMDA commissioner.

On Tuesday, the Chief Minister held a series of review meetings at the Secretariat and then went to the National Academy of Construction near Hitec City with a team of officials for a brainstorming exercise. Welfare, administrative and developmental issues were on the agenda, sources said.

“This is the first time any Chief Minister had camped in Warangal district for four days and tried to solve the problems being faced by people. KCR is the only leader to have toured all districts. It shows the government’s commitment to improve the lot of the people,” said T. Harish Rao, minister for irrigation.