SROs transferred multiple times a day in Vizag

VISAKHAPATNAM: In a surprise development, sub-registrars of north Andhra districts were transferred twice and thrice on a single day on May 31, the day the market prices of the land across the state were hiked.

Even tainted officials were given prime postings of their choice.

Deputy inspector general of Registration and stamps G. Balakrishna defended these transfers by saying these were done on administrative grounds and with proper coordination.

The DIG issued transferred Anand Kumar, SRO of Ananadapuram, to the audit division; K. Balaji from Chodavaram in Anakapalli district to Anandapuram, Vizag city; Ravishankar Sesh from the audit division to job sub-registrar, Vizag; Geetha Lakshmi to Chodavaram from Vizag SRO office; Kanaka Ratnam from Ponduru SRO to Vizag SRO office; and K. Srinivasulu from the city office to Ponduru.

This order was quickly followed by another order on the same day, causing many eyebrows to rise.

“The instance of K. Srinivasulu drew the attention of the department state-wide. He was transferred to Ponduru, Srikakulam district, but the order was cancelled by another order in a few hours' time. A third order was issued in the evening, reinstating him in the same office in Visakhapatnam city,’’ said a source from the Department of Registration.

The same source said that during ACB’s surprise raid on the city SRO office on April 27, it was found that ₹90,000 had been transferred to Srinivaslu’s account through PhonePay by a private employee working in the same office on April 7.

On Monday, when asked about this, the DSP of ACB, Sravani, said the case was still under investigation. Notably, there was an order in the registration department which suggested not to appoint ACB-charged officials to prime postings like SROs. Srinivasulu was yet to be charge-sheeted.

Another case under discussion was the transfer of Geeetha Lakshmi. She was transferred from Vizianagaram to Visakhapatnam SRO five months ago but she was shifted to Chodavaram on May 31. She had not even completed six months there. She had also shifted her son from a Vizianagaram school to a Visakhapatnam school recently.

The orders of Ravishankar Sesh were also changed twice. He was brought from the audit division to the city office, and hours later it was cancelled and a fresh order issued, transferring him to Ponduru, Srikakulam.

A prominent lawyer of Visakhapatnam well-versed in registration matters, TVSK Kanaka Raju, said transfers should be made in the interest of the public and in a transparent manner. “These orders of May 31 appear to be motivated and done with a mala fide intention,’’ Kanaka Raju told this correspondent.