Rohini Sindhuri Dasari shunted out for refusing to divert Rs 3,000 crore for flood relief

MANGALURU/BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has unceremoniously shunted out IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri Dasari, within six months of her taking charge, after she reportedly refused to divert funds from her department for flood relief and rehabilitation.
This came to light nearly a week after Sindhuri, secretary, Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board, was shifted without posting after she reportedly did not heed CM BS Yediyurappa’s diktat to divert about Rs 3,000 crore for labourers in flood-affected areas.The government on Wednesday posted Sindhuri as sericulture chief.
A senior officer said: “The board, which was till recently headed by Sindhuri, over the past 12 years has accumulated a corpus of about Rs 8,000 crore. The CM was keen to use Rs 3,000 crore for labourers hit by floods.”
IAS officer raised objection citing guideline
According to a government official, the chief minister had no other way of mopping up funds since the Centre was yet to grant any money nearly two months after floods ravaged 22 districts in the state. While Karnataka has submitted a revised memorandum to the Centre seeking Rs 35,000 crore, the Centre is yet to respond.
In a damage-control measure, the state government has released Rs 1,500 crore for flood relief on September 18 Though such diversions are not uncommon, sources said it came to light since Sindhuri put her foot down. A government source said Sindhuri was asked by her superiors to release at least Rs 1,000 crore but she didn’t relent.
She reportedly raised an objection citing the guideline which says this fund should not be used for routine schemes of the government and she interpreted flood relief is also routine work, the officer explained. “The CM, finance secretary, principal secretary and other officials discussed the issue and it was finally decided not to use these funds,’’ the officer added.
There is another reason that led to her transfer and this involves P Manivannan, secretary, labour department. She had objected to his direction to hand over a helpline project to Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd a government enterprise.
On Tuesday, Manivannan wrote to the chief secretary that transfer of any officer is entirely the prerogative of the government. Refuting Rohini’s charges, he said, “The project, which is a common helpline for the entire labour department, has been tendered based on the government order issued by my office on August 7.” He said she may be given a chance to continue in the board, innovate and improve the working in the interest of clearing any miscommunication, though there have been reservations from unions.