Activists of the Kerala NGO Union staged a protest outside the chamber of the Additional District Magistrate at the Kozhikode district collectorate on Februray 19 against the order to transfer certain Revenue department officials.
| Photo Credit: K. Ragesh

Activists of the Kerala NGO Union on Wednesday (February 19, 2025) staged protests at the Kozhikode collectorate and the taluk offices at Vadakara, Koyilandy, and Thamarassery against a recent order to transfer eight officials in the Revenue department to other sections.

Though Additional District Magistrate (ADM) C. Mohammed Rafeeq issued the transfer order on February 12, it was put on hold until February 18 after union functionaries blocked him in his chamber for hours on February 13. District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh was on leave at the time. The transferred officials were junior superintendents and deputy tehsildars.

The activists claimed that the order violated general guidelines for the transfer of officials and that those with health issues were assigned field duties. They also argued that transferring officials from key sections at the fag end of the financial year would impact the government’s development projects. Their protest on February 13 drew criticism, as the ADM was reportedly not allowed to visit a temple in Koyilandy, where three people had died after a captive elephant ran amok during a festival that day.

The incident was largely interpreted as the after-effect of the reported tug of war between the union, which is aligned with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the Joint Council of State Service Organisations, which is affiliated to the Communist Party of India that handles the Revenue department.

The union leaders resumed their protest on Wednesday outside Mr. Rafeeq’s chamber and other places alleging that efforts were being made to enforce the order again without addressing their concerns. A meeting presided over by Thottathil Raveendran, MLA, was later held at the District Collector’s chamber to sort out the issue.

A release from the union said Mr. Singh had promised to look into their concerns. The transfer order is on hold until Friday. It was also decided that a new order could be issued after addressing the reported anomalies. Following this, the protest was called off. Meanwhile, Joint Council functionaries claimed the protest was politically motivated.