The sudden transfer of Vikas Kharage, additional municipal commissioner (city), has raised eyebrows in civic corridors.
The state government on Wednesday transferred Kharage, who had spent only three months in the cash-rich corporation as secretary of forest department. The decision has surprised many given that the transfer comes even as another additional municipal commissioner Rajiv Jalota and BEST general manager OP Gupta are yet to be transferred despite having spent more than the stipulated three years in their respective posts.
Kharage had taken charge on October 1, 2014, after then additional municipal commissioner Mohan Adtani retired.
According to sources, the 1994-batch IAS officer, Kharage, has been summoned to serve in the state secretariat at the insistence of a heavyweight minister in the Fadnavis cabinet.
"Kharage had served as assistant collector and chief executive officer of zilla parishad in Chandrapur. His performance there was perceived as impressive by some. Accordingly, his name was recommended by a minister for the post in Mantralaya," the source said.
The source claimed Kharage's transfer is not of punitive nature and that he was 'wanted' in the secretariat. "Kharage's media-shy, but he did a good job during his three months in the BMC, especially while executing the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. He has been a performer and, hence, his name was recommended for the secretariat post," the source added.
Meanwhile, the official's transfer has left many junior-rank civic staffers baffled. "It is a rare case that an official of his rank is transferred after having served only a few months. He had been a soft-spoken officer who meant only business. He should have had stayed here, given that the corporation needs honest personnel like him," an official said.
As on Thursday, the government had not deputed any officer to replace Kharage in the civic body.
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