Chief secretary to review security

The newly-appointed chief secretary of Karnataka, Sudhakar Rao, on Thursday said security in the state would top the agenda in the coming days.

He said he would review the security situation in the state in the wake of suspected terrorism-related activity being reported from various parts of the state. He would convene a meeting of the top police officials in the state at the earliest.

"Steps will be taken to curb terrorism-related activities. We will also ensure the law and order situation continues to remain normal," Rao told reporters after assuming charge from the outgoing chief secretary P B Mahishi.

Other than security of the state, the immediate task before the chief secretary is the budget. "I will continue to devote my time to the implementation of the proposals in this year's budget. We plan to have a farmer-centric budget in 2008-09," he added.

One of the main factors that led to the replacement of Mahishi was his objection to the manner in which the Lok Ayukta was conducting the raids on government officers. The chief secretary had written a letter to Lok Ayukta Santosh Hegde urging him not to disclose the details of the officers' assets during the raid till the investigations were completed.

As an autonomous institution, the Lok Ayukta reports to nobody in the government. Only the state's governor can interfere in the Lok Ayukta, under extreme conditions. Upset with Mahishi's letter, Lok Ayukta had taken up the matter with Governor Rameshwar Thakur. According to sources, the governor had expressed his displeasure over Mahishi's action.

In view of these developments, Sudhakar Rao said he would meet the Lok Ayukta to normalise the situation. "The government and the Lok Ayukta should always be in good terms. I will work towards it," he added.

Rao said he would direct the deputy commissioners of the respective districts and the chief executive officers of the zilla panchayats to monitor the implementation of the government programmes. "There should not be any laxity in work. People should continue to benefit from the welfare schemes launched by the government," he stated.

On the demands made by the government staff, Rao said he would examine them in the coming days. One of the demands is to reduce the number of working days in a week. However, he felt that reducing the number of working days in a week from six to five was not justified.

"We are in government service and should be accessible to the people. So we have to work for all six days. There is no other option," he said.