MUMBAI: Senior IAS officer and additional chief secretary (ACS) of the agriculture department V Radha was transferred on Monday to the general administration department allegedly due to differences with agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde of the NCP (AP).
A no-nonsense IAS officer of the 1994 batch, Radha had returned from the Centre, where she was on deputation, and joined the state recently. She was posted in the agriculture department on June 24 and also promoted as ACS from principal secretary rank. This is the shortest stint she has ever had in any department.
The agriculture department has various schemes to strengthen soyabean and cotton, the prime crops of the state. Sources said that Radha and Munde had disagreements on several issues, including the purchase of spray pumps for cotton and soya, cotton storage bags and fertilisers Nano Urea and Nano DAP.
In one of the cabinet meetings, the minister and ACS had a major disagreement on funds for Nano Urea and Nano DAP. After Radha said there was no money for this in the state exchequer, the minister asked for money to be diverted from the Namo Shetkari Yojana through which farmers get funds every year. There was no formal complaint made, but Radha’s ouster was sought and she was transferred to GAD, a post that had fallen vacant due to the voluntary retirement of Nitin Gadre last month.
“Radha was cracking down on corruption in the agriculture department,” said Vijay Wadettiwar, leader of the opposition in the state assembly. “The kharif season is coming to an end, and Radha had said there was no need to make purchases. Munde wanted to make purchases for the department for reasons best known to him. This would have meant a loss to the exchequer. Radha had made all her notings on the file and opposed the corruption. Those who don’t help the government in corruption are transferred.”
Sources said that no IAS officer was willing to take agriculture secretary post and Radha was given additional charge even after she was posted in GAD.
When contacted, Radha refused to speak on the issue. Munde, when questioned, claimed he was in no way connected to Radha’s transfer. “She is a good officer and could have worked well but she was promoted as additional chief secretary,” he said. “This is a post for a principal secretary. She has been honoured by the government and posted in a better department.” However, officials said that several officers of ACS rank had worked in the agriculture department earlier.
Radha is a science graduate but is also armed with an LLB degree. She did her collectorship in Sambhaji Nagar and worked as an officer on special duty in the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation from January to June 2007. It was here that she unearthed the toll scam in Mumbai and was transferred abruptly, allegedly at the behest of senior NCP leaders.
The IAS officer also served in the BMC as joint commissioner. In charge of the octroi department, she single-handedly cracked down on corrupt officials here from June 2006 to February 2009. Octroi was later scrapped by the government.
Radha took an interstate deputation from 2009 to 2011 and went to Andhra Pradesh. She later returned as excise commissioner of Maharashtra, which was followed by her stint at the Centre. She has worked in Niti Aayog and ministries like water supply, sanitation, commerce and industry. She is likely to be empanelled as secretary to the Government of India and may go to the Centre again. She is due to retire in 2028.
