Shivakumar asks chief secretary not to transfer water resource dept engineers without informing him
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said that he has written to the Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh not to transfer any engineer from water resource department, a portfolio that he holds, without informing him.
Speaking to reporters here, Shivakumar said, "We don’t have many engineers in the Water Resources Department. We urgently need engineers. Hence, I have written a letter to the Chief Secretary asking not to relieve or send any engineer elsewhere from our department”.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the engineers join the water resource department, get promoted and then get transferred to other departments including Public Works and Zilla Panchayat.
When asked who made the transfer without your permission, he said, "There is a scope for making such transfers at the top level. I won’t say that such scopes are not there. That’s why I am saying that many MLAs put pressure to send engineers to other departments.”
Shivakumar was aggrieved that engineers are not coming forward to work in the irrigation department.
“I have told the Chief Secretary not to transfer anyone without bringing it to my attention,” he told reporters.
Reacting to it, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said, “These are mere indications. For sure, major changes in the state politics are in the offing. These developments are prelude to the climax.”
He also linked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s visit to senior Congress leader and MLC B K Hariprasad’s residence on Thursday morning with the "changing equations" in the state.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Illegal sand mining has created environmental crisis in National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal riverbed sand mining has created an "environmental crisis" and wreaked "havoc" in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, causing a grave risk to the gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation project.
Slamming the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for their utter failure in dealing with the issue, the apex court directed them to install high-resolution Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining in the area.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that live feed of such surveillance cameras shall be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the superintendent of police or the senior superintendent of police of the concerned district and the divisional forest officer.
It said these officers shall ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.
"It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote," Justice Mehta said while pronouncing the order.
The bench directed the authorities in these three states to initiate prompt and necessary action under law if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light.
It said the authorities shall ensure seizure of vehicles or machinery found involved in illegal sand mining and also initiate prosecution of persons involved in it.
The bench, which passed several other directions, posted the matter for hearing on May 11.
The top court passed the order in a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area.
Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance of news reports about rampant illegal sand mining on the banks of the Chambal river.
