KARWAR : Ports and Fisheries Minister Mankal Vaidya has stirred controversy by calling senior IAS officer and Principal Secretary Ritesh Kumar Singh a “settlement officer” over the closure of the Sirsi-Kumta highway for road widening. Singh is the district in-charge officer of Uttara Kannada.
The spat between politicians and the bureaucracy has come to the forefront, with Vaidya, who is the Uttara Kannada district minister, labeling Singh a “settlement officer” due to his disagreement over the widening of NH-766E, which connects Sirsi and Kumta.
A visibly upset minister told reporters on Friday that the road widening project, which began in 2021, is running behind schedule. “I am against the closure of this road. There is one person, Ritesh Kumar Singh, our in-charge secretary, who ordered the closure of the road. I need to understand whether he is the in-charge officer or a settlement officer of IRB and RNS construction firms. He seems to be coming here for settlement,” he mocked.
Vaidya stated that the road was supposed to be closed in September, but Singh ordered it to be closed in November. There was an agreement with the road construction firm to complete the work in three years, but it is still not finished. “The in-charge secretary doesn’t come to any meeting called by me. The Sirsi-Kumta Road should not be closed,” said Vaidya.
When it was pointed out that the Uttara Kannada MP had ordered the closure of the road, he responded, “I don’t know what the interest of the MP is. I am against the closure of the highway.”
The Sirsi-Kumta road widening project via Devimane Ghats began in 2021 at a cost of Rs 440 crore. The RNS Group appealed to the district administration to close the highway and suggest an alternative route for vehicles. However, this has created problems for commuters. The order was withdrawn, and the construction firm requested the closure of the road for at least one month. Sirsi-Siddapur MLA Bheemanna Naik also supported the move, saying, “This will be an inconvenience for commuters, but the road will be ready for use.”