Abrupt transfer of town commissioner triggers protests
DHANBAD: The transfer of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation (DMC) town commissioner Ramesh Gholap, just 66 days after his posting in the district, has triggered protests in the coal belt.
While Congress activists burned the effigy of chief minister Raghubar Das at Putki More on Wednesday, senior leaders of the ruling party, including Dhanbad MP PN Singh, also expressed their anger at the decision.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), on the other hand, hit the road on Wednesday, criticising the state government for this sudden change of guard.
The local councillors and representatives of social organizations in the district have sought an explanation from the government in this regard.
They said at this juncture when Dhanbad is trying to come out of its ‘dirtiest city’ tag, the state government’s decision will put the town commissioner’s efforts on the back burner.
The state government had transferred Gholap and appointed Manoj Kumar in his place on Monday.
The move has come across as a major jolt to the people of this district as Gholap had launched several projects recently to bail out Dhanbad from ‘ Dirtiest National City’ tag.
Besides streamlining defunct drainage and dustbin system, he had successfully kick-started Swachh Bharat campaign, with an aim to construct 49,000 toilets for the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna.
In February, Dhanbad was declared the dirtiest city in the country on the basis of a survey conducted by union urban development ministry. Since then, the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation has initiated several projects to restore their pride.
Four town commissioners have been posted and transferred in the last one year.
Expressing his displeasure over the latest development, Dhanbad MP PN Singh said, “The frequent transfer of town commissioner will block development in the district. The trend would impact sanitation drive in the city.”
Senior Congress leader and former minister Manna Mallick warned that his party would launch an agitation if Raghubar Das government does not stop transferring honest officials.
“The transfer has nothing to do with the development of the coal city or the welfare of the locals”, he said.
The JMM district president said that Gholap was transferred because he had initiated action against corrupt officials in the corporation.