Govt issues NOC to Kannur collector to attend training

Thiruvananthapuram: Amid the controversies surrounding the death of former additional district magistrate (ADM) of Kannur, Naveen Babu K, state govt granted clearance for Kannur district collector Arun K Vijayan to attend the upcoming mid-career training programme for IAS officers, despite the Centre shortlisting six district collectors from the state for the programme. The phase-three training, organized by the department of personnel and training (DoPT), is set to begin on Dec 2 and will last for a month.The general administration department (GAD), with the chief minister's approval (since the all India services is under the control of the chief minister), issued the mandatory no objection certificate (NOC) solely for Arun, while the other shortlisted district collectors of Kasaragod, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Ernakulam, and Kollam did not receive similar clearance.This decision comes amid controversies and criticism surrounding Arun following the death of Naveen Babu. His death was preceded by a public humiliation by the then Kannur district panchayat president and CPM leader P P Divya during his farewell meeting. The collector was widely criticised for his inaction as he failed to intervene to stop Divya from making personal remarks against the ADM. Her remarks were perceived as an affront to the ADM's professionalism and integrity, and the collector's failure to intervene drew criticism from various quarters, including Naveen Babu's family. Additionally, there are reports of growing discontent among some staff at the Kannur collectorate regarding Arun's leadership.State govt's decision to prioritise Arun's training clearance, especially considering these controversies, raises pertinent questions on whether it was a routine administrative move or an effort to manage the fallout of the incidents in Kannur. The lack of clearance for other district collectors may suggest a strategy to deflect attention from the issues surrounding the officer and potentially facilitate a smoother transition in leadership within the district. Traditionally, in such cases as short-term trainings for the district collectors, the charge is temporarily handed over to the ADMs.Among the 20 IAS officers from Kerala selected for the phase-three training, five, including Arun, officer on special duty (finance resources) Sriram Venkitaraman, women and child development director Haritha V Kumar, additional secretary (revenue) Sheeba George, and director (ST Development) Renu Raj, received clearance.