BY. FIROZ.T.TOTANAWALA
THE BANGALORE METRO REPORTER
THE DUAL IDENTITY
KPSC ASSISTANT SECRETARY: I AM HERE, I AM THERE
One official-Two names…
Ever heard of a Government official holding two posts using two names in official correspondences? Shocking it is but true that an official named M.N Gururaja Rao, presently the Assistant Secretary of KPSC exists as a dual entity.
TWO JOBS
M.N.Gururaj Rao is an Assistant Secretary of KPSC and also functions as the Secretary of the Lokseva Housing Co-op Society formed by the employees of KPSC. For outsiders, both names and persons seem different, but is actually a same person functioning with double role since decades. And shockingly, no one has the guts to initiate action against him.
M.N Gururaj Rao, joined the KPSC as a junior Assistant. Except a gap of few months, he remained as a permanent fixture in establishment section. Over the years, he got promotions as assistant, senior assistant, section officer and presently the Assistant Secretary, all in establishment section and he has also been designated as the public information officer of KPSC. Gururaj is a well known name among the bureaucrats. He is personally known to most of the IAS, IPS, KAS and other officials in the state and as far as KPSC Members and the Chairmen are concerned, Gururaj is their ‘Advisor’ since many years.
NO RENT
This is not the story here. M.N.Gururaj Rao functions as the assistant secretary in KPSC and officially becomes M.N. Gururaj to function as the Secretary of Lokseva Housing Co-operative Society. This society is also located in the premises of KPSC and Gururaj need not have to take any permission to house his society in KPSC and uses it free of cost, as he is running the show in KPSC ever since he joined the organization.
EXISTING FOR PERSONAL GAINS
But the activities of the society formed solely for the purpose of providing sites to the employees of KPSC to say the least, has become a very big real estate agency. Gururaj purchases lands, gets Government clearances, forms layouts and sells sites to any Tom-Dick and Harry provided they pay the market price. In fact, the KPSC does not have more than 300 employees including officials. But the society has made hundreds of sites in many layouts. Gururaj takes enough care to ‘gift’ big sites to successive Chairmen, Members etc. Presently; outsiders, general public etc. can purchase the sites from this society. Almost the entire KPSC employees who needed sites have been allotted the same long back and as such, legally, the society has to be wound up as it has outlived its utility and served its purpose. There is no reason or logic to continue the society any more.
But Gururaj is not prepared to wind it up as it has become the hen that lays golden eggs everyday. He is using the society as a real estate agent to acquire lands and sell sites to the public. As is natural, he has acquired lot of clout in the corridors of power and that explains the inaction by the various departments to take action against the illegalities and scams committed by Gururaj in the society. The Co-operative department is protecting the society as if it is its own. No official in the Co-op. department is prepared to even take a look at the serious violations of acts and rules.
TWO NAMES, TWO SIGNATURES
Interestingly, Gururaj is not using his official name in the society for fear of loosing his job of KPSC. He operates by another name and this is known to everybody in the Government and also in the KPSC. In all the correspondences of the society, he uses M.N Gururaj and in KPSC he uses the name of MN Gururaj Rao and smart as he is, he uses different signatures for different posts. Despite knowing this ‘Double’ role of Gururaj, the KPSC has not taken any action against Gururaj till date.
Obviously, a Government official holding and working for two different posts again by manipulation of name is a serious offence under the KCS. The case of M.N.Gururaj is a challenge to the law of the land. It is time; the KPSC takes some action against him in this regard.
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