Ujjain: In a surprising development, the State government on Saturday shunted Ujjain divisional commissioner Ajit Kumar and posted Sagar commissioner Anand Sharma as new commissioner.
2002 batch IAS officer (direct recruitee) Ajit Kumar joined here as divisional commissioner in first week of January 2019 and before that he was commissioner of higher education, Bhopal. Now he has been shifted to a low key post of director, RCVP Naronha Administrative and Managerial Academy, Bhopal. Government issued single order of his transfer which brought everybody’s attention as he was given only 13 months time at Ujjain and was shunted on a low key post. Here, he worked on low profile, but ruling Congress MLAs and party leaders were not satisfied with his style of working.
On being contacted, Ajit Kumar told Free Press that he had sought transfer on the pretext of family reasons. Sharing his experience, he said that Ujjain division is one of the most prosperous divisions of Madhya Pradesh. “Farming sector is quite advanced here. Mahakaleshwar Temple is a world-fame religious installation. Mandsaur’s Gandhi Sagar dam is very attractive for tourism. Ratlam is a railway hub. Bagulamukhi Shaktipeeth of Nalkheda (Agar district) is a significant place of worship. Dewas is an industrial town,” he counted adding that transfers are usual administrative process and he enjoyed working at Ujjain.
Meanwhile, new incumbent commissioner Anand Sharma (2001 IAS batch promotee officer) is likely to join the office on Monday. He was relieved from the post of Sagar commissioner on Saturday evening itself, though no one has yet been posted in his place. This will be his second innings in Ujjain.
Previously, he worked here in various capacities viz Ujjain SDM, Mahakaleshwar Temple Management Committee administrator, Ujjain Municipal Corporation commissioner and ADM. Despite remaining on various other posts across the state during past 20 years, Sharma always maintained cordial and constant relationship with Ujjainites. He will retire from services in 2021.
However, people were surprised over Sharma’s posting here. In Congress circles, senior party leaders were seen saying that decision to shift Ajit Kumar and posting Anand Sharma in place was taken solely by the CM secretariat. One of the private secretaries of CM Kamal Nath played a crucial role in Sharma’s posting, said a former MLA on anonymity.
