Smt. Vanjulavalli. S., Deputy Secretary, Auroville Foundation transferred to Andaman & Nicobar Islands

 Smt Vanjulavalli Sridhar I.F.S.(AGMUT: 2012), Deputy Secretary, Auroville Foundation has been transferred to Andaman & Nicobar Islands. She is among 12 officers transferred from their existing postings with immediate effect by an order from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change dated 28th August 2024. The list includes the transfer of Shri. S. Ganeshan IFS (AGMUT: 2020) from Andaman & Nicobar Islands to Puducherry.  

Officers of the AGMUT cadre of IFS serve in the States of Assam, Goa, Mizoram and the Union Territories of India. The Auroville posting is treated as a posting in Puducherry UT which is listed among the soft area postings whereas Andaman & Nicobar Islands is among the hard area postings for the cadre. According to the 'Guideline for transfer/posting of IFS Officers of Joint AGMUT Cadre', every junior administrative grade officer (DCF- Deputy Chief Conservator of Forest) is projected to serve 1 tenure of 4 years in a soft area and 2 tenures of 5 years in a hard area. 

Smt Vanjulavalli Sridhar who was the Chief Public Information Officer (CPIO) and became the Deputy Secretary of Auroville Foundation has been transferred much before the completion of her tenure in Puducherry (normally 4 years). 

 

The Central Information Commission ordered the issue of show cause notices to the CPIO in February 2024 and sternly cautioned the respondent public authority (Auroville Foundation) in July 2024 due to delayed responses ranging from a few months to 2 years to applications for information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from several citizens of India including a few residing in Auroville. 

The transfer order is available at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yljuX1iKRl15n-WPn3TbkM4U6oHsszrL/view?usp=sharing