Posting IFS officers as rural development project directors will paralyse public services: PMK

Posting IFS officers as rural development project directors will paralyse public services: PMK

Chennai, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday urged the Tamil Nadu government to revoke its decision to appoint Indian Forest Service officers as project directors for the District Rural Development Agency.

In a statement, Anbumani condemned the recent government order appointing IFS officers to lead District Rural Development Agency in Theni and Kanyakumari districts, warning that deploying officials with no prior exposure to rural governance would severely impair essential public services in rural areas.

Highlighting the vital role of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, the PMK leader stated that it is second only to the Revenue Department in maintaining direct, daily contact with the public.

"The department is responsible for executing crucial basic infrastructure projects including rural roads, bridges, housing, drinking water supply, and sanitation facilities-alongside key welfare initiatives like the 100-day and 150-day employment guarantee schemes", he pointed out.

Noting that DRDA project directors and Tamil Nadu state rural livelihood mission directors serve as district-level heads for these initiatives, the former Union Minister said, "IFS officers have no relevant background or operational experience in handling rural administration. Appointing them to these roles will inevitably degrade the department's performance and jeopardise essential services for rural residents".

Anbumani pointed out that the rural development cadre possesses a well-established promotional hierarchy.

"Officers recruited as junior assistants or assistants through the TNPSC advance over decades to become Deputy Block Development Officers , Block Development Officers , and Assistant Directors", he said, adding "similarly, group-1 officers directly recruited as assistant directors are promoted to joint directors-making them fully qualified to serve as DRDA project directors with deep ground-level experience.

"While the state previously deployed IAS officers under the premise of training them for future district collector roles, extending these postings to IFS officers is entirely unjustified," Anbumani stated.

He cautioned that the move risks creating friction between departmental staff and non-cadre project directors, potentially paralysing administrative operations.

Calling on the state government to prioritise rural welfare and safeguard the morale of departmental employees, he demanded that all DRDA project director posts be exclusively filled by promoting qualified rural development department officials.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.