Uttarakhand teacher row: While a teacher languishes in forest, CM’s wife enjoys plum posting

An RTI reply has revealed that Uttarakhand CM’s wife Sunita Rawat has been posted in the same school in Dehradun since 2008, despite having got a promotion. The letter was issued by the Education Officer of Dehradun. The RTI reply was tweeted by ANI on Friday evening.

This news comes as Uttarakhand CM Trivedendra Singh Rawat faces flak for rejecting the transfer request of woman principal, Uttara Bahugana, during a Janata Durbar on Thursday.

Another news report, though unverifiable, accused Sunita of corruption. The news report mentions that, as per information received by Praveen Sharma under the Right to Information, land worth crores of Rupees without departmental permission has been purchased by Sunita Rawat. The violation of the Service Conduct Manual, 1956.

Sunita Rawat purchased 0.101 hectares and 0.126 hectares of land on July 27, 2012, November 30, 2012, ie about three bighas and on September, 8, 2010, she purchased 833 square unit of residential land, whose market value is in crores.

Point number 24 of the said rules clearly says that in case of a government employee, except the concerned officer has full knowledge of it, either by his own name or by the name of any member of his family, lease, living, purchasing by selling or offering, or otherwise, neither will acquire any property nor sell it.

On Friday, Bahuguna was suspended after she confronted Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat on Thursday.

Bahuguna had requested to the state CM that she be transferred from the remote location. Her claim was that she had been posted in remote locations for the last 25 years and she now wanted to live with her children after death of her husband three years ago. She has making rounds of offices of concerned but to no respite. She even accused officials of corruption charges.