71 Transfers in 34 Yrs: Curious Case of IAS Officer Pradeep Kasni

Pradeep Kasni hasn’t received salary for 6 months. He was transferred to a dept that has been defunct since 2008.

Pradeep Kasni, IAS Officer

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Pradeep Kasni)

In his 34-year-long career, IAS officer Pradeep Kasni has been transferred 71 times – he was last posted as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in Haryana Land Use Board, a department that ceased to exist in 2008. Kansi, who retired on 28 February, hasn’t been paid his salary for the last six months either, reported The Wire.

As per the report, over a dozen of these 74 transfers took place in Khattar’s rule, including three in September 2016 alone.

According to a report by News18, when Kasni joined the Land Use Board in Haryana, he asked authorities at the state government about the absence of staff and official files in his office.

He filed an RTI after failing to get a response. The RTI revealed that the department was defunct and that there was no budget earmarked for the post. 

Kasni later complained to the Central Administrative Tribunal. The tribunal is scheduled to hear the matter on 8 March.

In the Hooda government they wanted to make some appointments related to my department. I said if the Governor is the appointing authority and he has not issued some instructions then I cannot assume it to be there. But the governments do not believe in truth but power and it was seen as an affront.

Pradeep Kasni to The Wire

“Sometimes you know how a government or a minister would want a file to be treated. And when people like me act differently, the result is a transfer order in the evening,” Kasni told the news outlet.

(With inputs from News18 and The Wire)

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