Frequent Transfers Taking a Toll on IAS Officers: Harish

Hyderabad:Former minister and senior BRS leader T. Harish Rao on Wednesday expressed alarm over the frequent transfers of IAS officers, district collectors and heads of departments, stating that they were not even being given time to settle down and understand their responsibilities properly.

Accusing Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy of ordering such transfers in retaliation against officials who refused to follow “illegal orders”, Harish Rao said officers were not being allowed to stabilise in their posts. Revanth Reddy, he said, keeps seeking suggestions from opposition parties, and the BRS’ suggestion is to allow officials to settle in their jobs and perform their duties.

“If someone is not working, action can be taken. But these wholesale transfers are severely affecting administration and resulting in plummeting morale and a sense of humiliation among officials,” he said.

“Topping this, the Chief Minister’s latest warnings to district collectors that he will expose their ‘misdeeds’ is nothing more than blackmailing IAS officers to do his bidding. Revanth Reddy is demoralising young IAS officers. The average time a collector is spending in a district has come down to just eight months before being transferred,” Harish Rao said during an informal interaction with reporters.

“Since Revanth came to power, there have been five mass transfers of IAS officers, including around 140 transfers involving IAS officers and 20 district collectors. The GHMC has seen four commissioners so far. Top officials are being transferred frequently in the electricity department, and the results are evident in frequent power cuts. The Panchayat Raj department has had four different heads so far. Singareni has seen four CMDs, as have the education and I&PR departments,” he said.

Harish Rao further said the situation was reflected in an instance where an IAS officer posted as Principal Secretary of the IT department was not allowed to take charge, with the Chief Secretary holding the portfolio instead.

“Revanth Reddy’s decisions are leading to chaos in administration,” Harish Rao alleged.