After the appointment of the new Governor for Jammu and Kashmir, the Modi administration on Friday sent back three senior IAS officers of J&K cadre in order to strengthen the State administration under the Governor’s rule.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the repatriation. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued the notification stating that they had been prematurely repatriated with immediate effect.
According to sources in the personnel ministry, the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir had sought the services of IAS officers currently on the central deputation.
As per the ACC orders, the premature repatriation of Arun Kumar Mehta, additional secretary in the Ministry of Environment and forest and climate change, would be effective from December 31, 2018. He was a 1988 batch officer of J&K cadre.
The other two officers were Atal Dulloo, 1989 batch officer posted as joint secretary in the Rural Development Ministry, and Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, 1997 batch officer and posted as joint secretary in the department of commerce. Their repatriation too was with immediate effect.
Former Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik was sworn in as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. He replaced N N Vohra, who was at the helm of affairs in the state for the past 10 years.
Sources said that the outgoing Governor had approached the Centre, seeking the services of IAS officers working on deputation after the state was placed under Governor’s rule in June this year.
Earlier, Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer B V R Subrahmanyam was sent on deputation to the militancy hit Jammu and Kashmir to be appointed as Chief Secretary when the State was brought under the Governor’s Rule.