Controversial Konni Taluk Office staff trip flares up, Whatsapp chat of staff mocking MLA out

Pathanamthitta: A few screenshots of Whatsapp chats between employees of Konni Taluk Office, who recently went on a Munnar trip allegedly without taking adequate permissions, are out.

In the screenshots from the group, which has around 136 members, the head quarters deputy tahsildar described local MLA K U Jenish Kumar's arrival at the office and his subsequent actions as a “staged drama”.

“Apparently there was a physically challenged man who couldn't get his things done despite coming to office for three weeks! That in itself is proof enough that he was brought in paying money and it was a staged drama,” the officer said in the group.

The Munnar trip by majority of the staff at the taluk office by taking mass leave on a working day had become a major controversy with Jenish Kumar raising serious allegations. The MLA alleged the bus used for the trip was owned by a quarry owner and demanded a probe into the circumstances of organising the trip.

He also wondered whether a quarry owner was higher in hierarchy than people’s representatives and government officers.

The MLA told reporters the officer, who mocked him in the chat, can be seen showing him the attendance register, in a CCTV visual.

"In the visual, you can see that I asked the officer how many people were on leave. Though he said 20 were on leave, I counted the attendance and found only 21 people were present that day, out of 60 employees. When I asked him where the rest of the people were, he said they hadn't come to office. I also asked him to note unauthorised absence for all of them. Their words in the chat will land them only in trouble later."

The employees came back after the trip on Sunday morning and went back to their homes. The owner of the vehicle in which they travelled told Manorama News that it wasn't a sponsored trip as alleged.

Rift in LDF
The MLA's intervention in the issue even brought division between CPM and CPI out in the open.

While CPI slammed Jenish's intervention as immature, the CPM backed the MLA and said he was right and his post is above the Additional District Magistrate (ADM).

The ADM had been asked to give report on the mass leave on Saturday.

Earlier, the MLA had inspected the attendance register at the Taluk Office on Friday, sparking the row. The MLA’s action was questioned by the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) and Kumar reacted strongly. “Visiting houses where a death had taken place and attending weddings are not the only duties of an MLA,” said Kumar.

“An MLA has the power to inspect any document which is not of a confidential nature. The ADM, instead of addressing the lapse of the Taluk Office staff, is trying to evaluate the duties of an MLA,” said Kumar.

Meanwhile, it is also alleged that even though the union leaders had collected Rs 3,000 from each employee who went on the trip, the resort where they had stayed in Munnar had provided free accommodation based on the recommendation of the quarry owner.

Complaints galore
Recently, there have been many complaints against Revenue Department employees in Pathanamthitta district. They often act irresponsibly as nobody has disciplined them for wrongdoings. Some most recent incidents in this regard include the death of a man during a mock drill and leaking an appointment order through WhatsApp.

Even though probes took place into both incidents, no disciplinary action was taken against the guilty officials. It is alleged that the intervention of union leaders had prevented top officials in the Revenue Department from initiating action.

In the latest incident, of the 60 employees at taluk office, 35 – including the tahsildar and deputy tahsildar – failed to turn up for work on Friday. On receiving a complaint in this regard, the MLA arrived at the office and inspected the attendance register.

Incidentally, the minister had announced a meeting on Friday to discuss issues related to regional tourism in which the tahsildar too was asked to attend. However, the tahsildar informed the MLA that he would not be able to attend due to some other official duties.