Former TTD Executive Officer Shyamala Rao is said to be extremely unhappy with the sudden transfer. After the coalition government came to power, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu himself selected him as TTD EO and now, not even after two years, it is believed that political pressure is the reason behind the transfer.
After being transferred from TTD to GAD, he has applied for a three-month leave without joining, which is creating a stir in government circles. There has been a discussion about Shyamala Rao’s transfer since the stampede in Tirupati. In the recent IAS transfers, he was removed from TTD and given the posting as Principal Secretary of the General Administration Department.
However, he did not join that post and submitted a letter to the government seeking a three-month leave on health grounds. After BR Naidu was nominated as the Chairman of the TTD Trust Board, the power struggle reportedly started between the two.
While, BR Naidu was said to be the selection of minister Nara Lokesh, he is unable to portray the pro-active attitude of Shyamala Rao, who was directly communicating with the Chief Minister from time to time. As a result, BR Naidu, who is not known to have any administrative experience is unable to get a strong foot-hold on TTD administration.
During the turmoil of stampede, there were large-scale attempts to transfer Shyamala Rao. However, based on the report given by the inquiry commission appointed on this, action was taken against those responsible. It was not possible as there was no mention of Shyamala Rao in it.
Finally, Anil Kumar Singhal was appointed in his place instead of Shyamala Rao, who is now the EO. Moreover, it is said that Shyamala Rao wanted a priority post during the transfer and was deeply unhappy with being transferred to GAD, which was mostly confined to the Secretariat.
With this, he wrote a letter to the government requesting a leave of absence for three months due to health reasons.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to hold a collectors’ conference on the 15th and 16th of this month. GAD will play a key role in organizing this conference. At the same time, discussions have started in official circles over Syamala Rao’s non-attendance at his new responsibilities.
At the same time, Anantharam, who was appointed as the Governor’s Special Chief Secretary, and Dande, who was appointed as the Principal Secretary of the Forest Department, have also not yet joined their new responsibilities.
