Following the crackdown on the Public Works Department officials over irregularities in transfers, senior officials of the Health department are also likely to face similar action.
Sources said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath sought all the letters related to transfers in the Health department late on Wednesday evening. Earlier, Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, who is also the Health Minister, raised questions on the transfers in his department.
Terming all the transfers against government policy, he had sought a detailed report from Additional Chief Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad. The PMS Association and other health organisations had also opened a front on this issue.
Seeing the matter gaining momentum, Yogi had a word with the deputy CM and the ACS. At the same time, he had also constituted a 3-member high-level committee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary DS Mishra to review the transfers and sought the report in two days.
On Wednesday night, the CM sought full details of findings of the probe committee, sources said. As per a senior official, the CM may now crack down against the officials found guilty any time.
The shortcomings in the Health department transfers are coming to the fore one after the other. Many doctors have been transferred to two districts.
Dermatologist Dr Shiv Narayan Azad was transferred to Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh. Additional Chief Medical Officer Dr Mohan Jha was transferred from Sant Kabir Nagar to the post of Joint Director in Aligarh, which had not been created.
Dr Vinod Kumar (Level-1) was sent from Agra to Jalaun showing Level-2.
It may be mentioned that earlier the CM launched a crackdown on PWD over irregularities in transfers. While Jitin Prasada’s OSD Anil Kumar Pandey was the first to be sacked, five officials were suspended for their alleged involvement in facilitating transfers for material benefits last Tuesday. They included Engineer-in-Chief (Development) and HoD Manoj Kumar Gupta, Chief Engineer Rakesh Kumar Saxena, senior staff officer Shailendra Kumar Yadav, administrative officer Pankaj Dixit and head clerk Sanjay Kumar Chaurasia.
The action was based on the recommendations of a committee led by UP Agriculture Production Commissioner Manoj Kumar Singh.
To distance himself from the transfers, PWD Minister Jitin Prasada denied that he was upset over the suspension of the PWD officials and sacking of his OSD.
Hailing the Yogi Adityanath-led government’s zero-tolerance policy on corruption, Prasada on Wednesday asserted that strict action would be taken wherever irregularities are detected.
UP Congress former president Ajay Kumar Lallu demanded Prasada’s ouster and a CBI inquiry into the alleged corruption in the transfers and postings of officials.
Meanwhile, in another bizarre case, the executive engineer of the Housing Development Board, who was suspended by the government in June, is still sitting on the same post. Expressing displeasure, the Housing department has sought a clarification from the officials concerned.
Reports said that the government received serious complaints against executive engineer of the Housing Development Board OP Pandey. The chief development officer of Amethi also wrote a letter to the government demanding disciplinary action against him.
The ACS, Rural Development, got the allegations investigated and recommended action as per rules. On the basis of this, the Housing department had on June 8 suspended Executive Engineer, Construction Division-I (Ayodhya), OP Pandey for taking no interest in the under-construction projects in Amethi and other districts.
Interestingly, instead of suspending the officer, the officers concerned sent a letter to the government requesting to reconsider the decision. In the same month, Joint Secretary, Housing, Sanjay Kumar Singh wrote to the housing commissioner, stating that the order given on June 8 should be implemented immediately.
Now after learning that Pandey is still working on the same post, the government has sought a detailed compliance report in this regard.