Transparency? Not in transfers

TRANSPARENCY MAY be a buzzword these days following implementation of the Right to Information (RTI). But the Trade Tax Department has probably outdone everyone in maintaining secrecy, while preparing transfer lists. This is what happened.

TRANSPARENCY MAY be a buzzword these days following implementation of the Right to Information (RTI). But the Trade Tax Department has probably outdone everyone in maintaining secrecy, while preparing transfer lists.

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This is what happened.

When trade tax commissioner Rajnish Gupta, along with additional commissioner Dheeraj Sahu, was giving final touches to the transfer list featuring 500 officers, half-a-dozen police personnel stood alert outside his chamber to ensure that nobody entered the room.

Eyewitnesses said that after finalising the list around midnight a few days ago, Gupta rushed to a joint commissioner’s empty chamber to get the list photocopied. Each list was sealed in envelopes. Messengers were called the next day. The envelopes were handed over to them with the specific instruction that they should not be allowed to be opened by anyone other than the respective additional commissioners heading their zones. Sources said messengers usually went to the headquarters on Mondays and Thursdays to deliver and receive mail. This time, however, they were called on Wednesday exclusively to take the envelopes containing transfer lists. But, as sources pointed out, it was for the first time any commissioner made a sector-wise list of traders, while posting a trade tax officer. Sources said a list was prepared detailing how many traders there were in a particular sector and an official was posted accordingly.

And now when the transfer list is out, there is a lot of resentment amongst ‘deprived’ officials.