Ajit Pawar Alleges Rate-Card For Bureaucratic Transfers In Maharashtra

After Karnataka, an alleged rate-card for bureaucratic transfers is claimed to be existing in Maharashtra, too. Former deputy chief minister and now leader of the Opposition Ajit Pawar has charged that the Shinde-Fadnavis government in the state has been indulging in corruption for transfers and appointments of various officials. Pawar has also said that only a select group of MLAs has been authorized to decide on the transfers. Pawar said his interaction with several IAS and IPS officers had revealed that although they were empowered to transfer staff, they had been told orally that only those staff members should be transferred whose names appear in a list sent from Mantralaya, the state government headquarters. Pawar disclosed that some such officials had gone abroad, too. Is there any connection between the transfers and foreign jaunts of certain leaders, he demanded to know. Quoting media reports, Pawar claimed that the rate to transfer an assistant in the agriculture department was Rs 3 lakh! If officials are transferred by extorting huge amounts from them, how can they be expected to be honestly performing their duty? Unless the mindset of the officials changes, people can’t expect good administration, he observed. Pawar advised the media to speak with different officials to verify the truth in what he was saying. He lamented that such an atmosphere had never existed in Maharashtra.