Government sources indicate that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has decided to replace the present AP CRDA Commissioner Katamneni Bhaskar with Kakinada District Collector Shan Mohan, soon after the ongoing district collector’s conference.
It may be recalled that Bhaskar has been playing a key role in formulating CRDA policies, preparing its projects and also completed ground work to initiate capital city Amaravati construction activities from the beginning of the new year.
With regard to submitting proposals to the World Bank and other key funding agencies also, Bhaskar played a critical role even during negotiations. He has prepared all the necessary ground for the smooth running of the capital works.
However, Minister for Municipal Administration Dr P. Narayana, who is government face for Amaravati works somehow unable to cope up with him and their relations seems to be adverse due to obvious reasons. The minister said to be brinings pressure on the Chief Minister for Bhaskar’s transfer and Chandrababu Naidu also said to be taking it as a very sensitive issue.
For the smooth execution of Amaravati construction works, the Chief Minister also intends cordial relations between the minister and key executive officers. As a result, it is reliably learnt that Naidu conceded for his transfer. In his place, both chief minister and also Dr Narayana said to be giving preference to Shan Mohan to lead the CRDA activities.
Shan Mohan previously worked as the CRDA additional commissioner and had detailed knowledge about its activities. As a result Dr Narayana proposed his name as a suitable alternative and the Chief Minister also gave his nod for it.
During the previous tenure of TDP government also, there were reports in the media that there was no harmony between Minister Dr Narayana and Katamneni Bhaskar. There was a lot of pressure on Chandrababu to remove him from CRDA. But somehow he said to ignore such pressures.
Official circles admit that the problem with minister Dr Narayana is that he insists that everything should be done as he says, even ignoring rules and regulations, including the allocation of contracts. Due to his unilateral attitude earlier also several officers said to be troubled. In the cabinet after Nara Lokesh, Dr Narayana is said to be the most influential minister and known for his proximity with the Chief Minister.