Bengaluru: Three woman officers in Karnataka have come to be known as “lady Singhams” for locking horns with the high-and-mighty political class. Two of them are IPS officers, Sonia Narang and D. Roopa, while the third is Rohini Sindhuri Dasari, a 2009-batch IAS officer who has been transferred at least three times for taking on political heavyweights.
Rohini has run crackdowns on the sand mafia in Sakaleshpur and surrounding areas, and locked down a PWD inspection bungalow that a state minister was using as an election office. She has been put under pressure, issued showcause notices, and even transferred. Yet, she has stuck to her guns, making it clear that she won’t bow down to the pressure, even if the administration keeps resorting to abrupt transfers.
She was most recently transferred on 22 February, and is now secretary of the Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board in the state capital.
“It is not easy to be an IAS officer in today’s world. You either give in or stick to it. You should remember that there is no use in rebelling without a cause,” Rohini told ThePrint.
“Officers need time to prove themselves, even if you are a super-efficient one. But if you are shunted out, it dims the morale.”
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Claim to fame
A chemical engineering graduate from the University of Hyderabad, Rohini secured 43rd rank in the UPSC exam in 2009.
She was posted as assistant commissioner in the urban development department in Tumkur (now Tumakuru) district, and later as director of the rural development and panchayati raj department in Bengaluru for a year. But she received national acclaim, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when she was CEO of the Mandya zilla panchayat, which was praised for its implementation of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
In Mandya, Rohini helped put Karnataka at No.3 on the list of states that effectively managed to build individual toilets for households. She launched a drive that helped provide toilets for over 1.02 lakh households within the span of a year, and also constructed over 80,000 public toilets across Mandya, making it the top district in the state.
Rohini would encourage people to adopt healthy sanitation measures by stepping out early in the morning, and talking to the villagers about the importance of using individual toilets. This was a big hit among the people.
The central government was so impressed by her work in Mandya that she was called in to Delhi to train district collectors and deputy commissioners of other states on how to effectively implement the programme.
Nagesh P., a farmer in Mandya who benefited from the programme, said his family had been defecating near the fields.
“We are five brothers who have a three-acre rice plantation handed over to us by our father. Fifteen members of our family live together, and it is difficult to make ends meet, let alone spend money to build a toilet,” he said.
“But madam (Rohini) came and explained it to us one morning, and told our girls how it would also mean they can be safe even at night, and would not not need to wander into the forest. She built a few toilets in our area.”
Rohini also provided over 100 pure drinking water units across Mandya, and effectively utilised the Rs 65 crore allocated by the Centre for the district. Again, her work was appreciated by the central government, which provided the district an additional Rs 6 crore to build more units.
In 2017, then-Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah also lauded her at a meeting of the deputy commissioners and zilla panchayat CEOs, for her excellent execution of a survey connected with the farmers’ crop insurance scheme.
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Transfers and run-ins
Rohini’s first brush with an irregular transfer came in 2015, when she was still earning accolades for the job she was doing as CEO of the Mandya zilla panchayat. For reasons she doesn’t want to delve into, her tenure was cut short within 18 months of her appointment, and while the central government was getting her to train other officials on efficiently implementing Swachh Bharat, she was posted as managing director of the Karnataka Food & Civil Supplies Corporation Limited.
Rohini says that the sudden transfer out of Mandya affected her work. But that wasn’t her only brush with the way the system of transfers works.
She was made the deputy commissioner of Hassan district in July 2017. But this posting turned quite controversial as she came into the cross-hairs of A. Manju, the minister of animal husbandry in Siddaramaiah’s Congress government, and also the minister in-charge of the district.
In January 2018, when the Mahamastakaabhisheka celebrations took place at the Jain holy site of Shravanabelagola in Hassan, Rohini had a public spat with Manju over the matter of building a scaffolding for pilgrims to watch the event.
“I tried to reason with him that there was a need for a scaffolding as at least 5,000 people would be sitting atop it to watch the ceremony. It should be made of good material in order to withstand the weight of the people. God forbid, if there was an accident due to poor quality of products used, the casualties we might have had to see…” Rohini said.
“I tried to make him see reason in this, but he (Manju) wouldn’t budge. This is where our differences started. I put my foot down and that is what you need to do many times.”
Things got worse, with chief minister Siddaramaiah also taking exception to her “high-handedness” and “violation of protocol” when she was not present to receive or see him off when he visited Shravanabelagola just before the celebrations.
The government then issued her a showcause notice, and eventually transferred her on 22 January 2018. However, sources in the state government said one of the main reasons for her transfer was her crackdown on the sand mafia near Sakleshpur in Hassan, which sent several legislators scrambling to Siddaramaiah, asking him to transfer her from the region.
Rohini didn’t take the transfer lying down. She contested it in the Karnataka High Court, arguing that the state had no right to transfer her in six months. She also challenged the order in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), and in March, when the Model Code of Conduct for the state assembly elections came into effect, the Election Commission stalled her transfer.
Then, her spat with Manju intensified when she locked down a PWD inspection bungalow that he had allegedly been using for election work. At the time, some of his staff were still inside, allegedly clearing up files.
The district police registered an FIR after a complaint was filed.
In another face-off in April 2018, Rohini wrote a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer based on the report of the returning officer of Manju’s constituency Arkalugudu, which accused the minister of corruption and violating the Model Code of Conduct by issuing a land grant approval.
In her letter, Rohini said: “The said action to sign and issue land grant approval during elections by backdating it amounts to ‘bribery’ within the meaning under Section 171B and punishable under Section 171E read with Section 188 IPC for violation of the Model Code of Conduct.”
Eventually, Rohini’s transfer was overturned by the Karnataka High Court in June 2018.
Taking on the ‘Super CM’
Hassan is also home to the powerful family of former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, and Rohini had a few run-ins with his elder son, H.D. Revanna, who is now the PWD minister of the state and is labelled the ‘super CM’.
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A local leader from Revanna’s party Janata Dal (Secular) said: “There have been many instances when Rohini Sindhuri and Revanna ji have clashed over issues. She has not accepted some of his proposals or extended contracts to people whom the minister has suggested.
“It was common knowledge that they were not on the same page on many issues. This irked Revanna ji. He even recommended that Rohini be transferred out of Hassan,” the leader said.
Pragmatism versus idealism
Retired IAS officer K. Jairaj said pragmatism was an important quality for every officer to have. “One should not get provocative. Basically, bureaucrats are not heroes. They should put their head down and keep the system in play and function according to rules and law,” he said.
“A lot depends on their working methods and how they become affable to people. In my experience, objectives can be accomplished if you don’t confront politicians outright. Learn the art of gentle persuasion.”
However, Rohini says while the real world is very different to the rosy picture that IAS aspirants are shown, she doesn’t regret anything.
“It is when we work in the real world that we understand the troubles and tribulations of the job. If you are doing well, then suddenly you are transferred, how are you supposed to work? If they are unable to find mistakes with our work, then the first thing they resort to saying is ‘insubordination’. But despite all this, I have never regretted a day at my job,” she insisted.
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Sir I am manju Natha from karnataka state my aim ias but puc 2 correspondence Delhi university and b Com passed in regular kud university I am ias exam eligible sir plz tell me
Rohini mam is a hero of nation as like ALL HONEST IAS and ADMIN OFFICERS!!!
Ias officer works for nation and he is perfectly right if he does it with Confidence pride and josh!!
Its pathetic to think IAS officers are not heroes!!
I support Rohini mam! Please keep the spirit high!
I strongly disagree with Jairaj sir’s comment that bureaucrat are not heroes. I think ROHINI mam has proved that she is.
Doing your job sincerely confidently and with pride is the attribute of a hero regardless profession.
Rohini mam is my hero!
Mam your stiff stand against the peer political pressure proves the worth of the hardwork upsc aspirants invest throughout the year
Kudos for your bravery!!
Keep the spirit on Rohini madam. Politics is a dirty game and these politicians play to keep their seats alive. Why the govt should transfer the sincere officers when they do the perfect jobs for the public and politicians can not do ? This is a very bad situation in our country. This should be stopped and let those IAS, IPS, IFS officers do their sincer jobs.
Keep going on Revathi Mam.
I think like politicians who are elected for 5years ,a bureaucrat should also be posted for 5years at a place so that good ones can be allowed to perform. The bad ones will be automatically pushed out by public outcry.
Or alternatively the bureaucratic control should be under different system where politician cannot interfere.
Commendable. The protocol and VIP culture lest by the britishers have been taken ahead by us and majority wanted it. Till it goes away, many things remain the same and common citizen would suffer as was.
great daring….
Narishakti
Ms Rohini,officers like you are a ray of hope for the State of Karnataka where corruption is rampant and poor have remained poorer and rich richer.I wish corrupt,spineless and worthless beaurocrats will follow your footsteps so as to ensure due dispensation to all those who do not have nasty political clouts.Go ahead taking more and more young officers of your type so that one day honest and bold officers outnumber the looters
I wish every officer should handle the situations like you… every officer whom then want to get for their district should be like you..then where will these dirty poticians will have options? unfortunately there are chamchas in the beurocratic team as well!!!
Unfortunately the political class is rogue elements who want to take law in their own hands which is not going to change soon. That is why our country is not developing despite having resources and talent. Morality has eroded from every layer of our society.
Hats off to your boldness and honesty in work. Need many more Rohini and Roopa in our country to eliminate corruption, misuse of power. People of country are with you always.
Our Country requires likes of Ms Rohini. It is high time there should be a strong law against those Minister who crosses the line of Governance as stipulated by her while she was working Honesty.
There should be a law for Chief Minister and his cabinet to fulfill the goal of serving. If they fail, Election commissioner should debare those sitting Politicians from Contesting once again and also they should be heavy fines
Congratulations Ma’am! You are the one to be celebrated on this woman’s day. Hats off.
We are for constitution not for fellows of selfish ambition.
Very difficult to be a sincere officer these days,those that choose to answer there own self conscious and serve people lock horns with political stupids.this alone benefits the society inflicting pain to the officer but serving the community
I wish a great lady “Happy women’s day”.
In such type of incidences, public should intervene and protest against such useless
politicians and support the govt personnel.
Madam glad to see you as as a woman of steel and grit who dares to take upon the mghties.wish you succeed in accomplishing your mission.All the best for your future endeavours as well.Jai Hind
It is very unfortunate that such honest and efficient officers ate victimised by corrupt politicians and they can not contribute their best for welfare of general public.
The shameless and corrupt to the core political leaders should be caught in the act by a fearless and clean police officer like Deepa and put behind bars with no access to bail …
Royal officer ka transfer karte ho Sale isliye pure bharat men satta chahiye kya? shame shame. Balu kya tumhare baap ki property hai kya? Minister bana diya to desh ka property baap ke property ki tarah kharch karega kya?
Hats off to this brave lady, may her tribe increase. A good lesson and a role model to those cast…..ed bureaucrats who stoop down to buckle the politicians shoes. God bless you!
Our country needs honest and brave officers like you madam without minding obstacles from dishonest people. My salute to you mam and your endless journey working for nation and people.
The example of Madam Rohini S. Dasari has proven that there is no much beyond the duty but to protect and welfare of people. I think it is real service of the country (desh di sewa). In other words Only The IAS lobby without any pressure may provide the benefit of the government’s various welfare schemes on the ground level.
Ms Rohini keep doing the good job.Dont let political bandicoots go Scot free.Keep them busy in the courts.Fight it hard were ever you are right and follow the rule book.
My salutes to you mam keep going we as a citizen are proud to have people like you…
Keep going Rohini ! We are proud of your grit and inner strength !!
Happy Women’s day !!!
My full support to all those who have the courage to raise the red flag against illegal orders of their seniors. India needs more such bravehearts; not chamchas and bootlickers.
I cannot agree with what Jairaj says. Too much accommodation of politicians today makes them think they can get away with anything. However, if it is a fact that Rohini did not receive the CM, I would suggest she learns tactical tricks. Ensure you do nothing that gives an impression that you have not followed protocol. Also learn to politely avoid doing things which are illegal, without ruffling feathers; of course, this is easier said than done.
Keep going mam, don’t let your head go down whatever may be the situation.Society needs more officers like you than the corrupted politicians.
What else you expect from the Congress and JDS bred political clan who think it’s their father’s property since ages… It’s simply against ‘the shit’ that she is fighting…So obvious to get dirty
She has been doing excellent service to the society. May her tribe increase. It is the voting mass to teach lessons to the politicuans. Unfortunately our educated eligible voters do not excercise their vote
And even if they vote they will stamp NOTA as if they have done a great service to society. It us as good as not voting
It’s very sad, really. These IAS officers are brilliant, sincere, upright people — surely most of them. They sacrifice so much for their scruples. Yet they have to bear hardships at the hands of some crass, ill-educated, ill-mannered politicians.
Rohini S. Dashari, an IAS officer of 10-years standing is a shining example of a principled officer of the Republic. As a CSP officer myself from 1965 batch, I retired in 2000 as Secretary to the Government/ Ambassador. My favourite literary giant Rabi Thakur wrote about a world and brave human mind- Chinta Jethai BhoyShunya” – we all dream of a system that would ensure thoughts with zerO -fear and allow discharge of responsibilities in a law-respecting ambience.
Wish Rohini and bold souls like her to continue on the right path and serve the people and the nation with the pride of fearless performance. Do allow me to say you have a beautiful, ethereal look that would illuminate many people’s lives.
WISH YOU and ALL YOUR peers every success and let the younger officers learn from the examples you have been setting. And , finally do have a finesse to your fearless actions to garner benefits for the hapless victims.
Syed Muhammad Hussain /// 08 March, 2019
What Mr. Rahul Gandhi has to say in this regard?