Mangaluru : After five months of posting, the State government on Wednesday transferred Commissioner of the Mangaluru City Corporation Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, IAS, as the Chief Executive Officer, Vijayapura Zilla Panchayat.

She was one among 14 officers, including 12 IAS officers, transferred in the State on June 12.

A 2011-cadre IAS officer she had taken charge as the commissioner on January 1, 2015. Ms. Korlapati (27) had secured the 20th rank in the All India Civil Services Examination in 2010 and she was the second IAS officer to take charge as the regular commissioner of the corporation in the recent years after Sameer Shukla, IAS, who was the Commissioner from August 8, 2008 to May 28, 2009. Ms. Korlapati had taken charge after the corporation did not have a regular commissioner for six months.

Ms. Korlapati and the ruling Congress councillors were reportedly not getting along with the latter accusing her of not respecting them, being very strict and not initiating development projects. But she has denied the charges.

When Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited the city this April, councillors complained to him about the commissioner.

Mr. Siddaramaiah had told presspersons that there was some misunderstanding between the Mayor and the Commissioner and that it would be sorted out. Later, the councillors had complained about her to Vinay Kumar Sorake, Minister for Urban Development, in the presence of the commissioner at the corporation.

But senior Congress leader B. Janardhana Poojary at a press conference had openly supported the commissioner stating that she was a good officer and attempts were being made to shift her without a valid reason. Congress councillors were in for a shock recently when the commissioner did not sit through the “development cell” meeting reportedly stating that The Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, did not permit constituting such a cell.

She created a controversy by reportedly refusing to enter the Safai Karmacharis quarters in Jeppu Mahakalipadpu. She later put an end to it by visiting their houses and having food.

Earlier before her posting the Congress councillors had opposed the posting of H Prasanna, a KAS officer, and ensured that he did not continue after taking charge on July 16, 2014. He was later transferred to Karwar.