It’s indeed very unfortunate that Roopa Divakar Moudgil is not alone who has been transferred every year, sometimes even twice, in her 17- year-long career. Senior Karnataka Administrative Services officer K Mathai beats her. He has been transferred 27 times in nine years.
He was the man who had unearthed the much-reported advertisement scam worth Rs 2,000 crore in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). As the administrative officer of Karnataka’s flagship program, Sakala Mission, he lodged a complaint against his boss who was diverting official funds for personal use. As a result the boss was removed as Mission Director.
Mr Mathai has been well rewarded. The officer is entitled to an official vehicle, but he hasn’t had a vehicle at his disposal and has been reduced to taking a cycle to work covering around 40 km and 2.5 hours one way. The official version is very funny. His transport services have been withdrawn by the agency (read not by the authorities) entrusted with the job which cited non-payment of bills for over 11 months as the reason.
But Mr Mathai is used to getting such rewards. In 2014, he exposed irregularities in allotment of sites when he was with the Mandya Development Authority. It turned out to be a Rs 300-crore scam. And as a goodwill gesture the government transferred him six times in four months. As it goes – It Happens Only in India.
