Yogi removes bureaucrats heading Noida, Greater Noida authorities

Benches top IAS officers in transfers

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath today removed senior bureaucrats heading cash rich Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) in the National Capital Region (NCR).

While, there have been allegations of last scale corruption in the land deals in Noida and Greater Noida spanning the two previous Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) regimes, the Yadav Singh case continues to make headlines for kickbacks and award of land deals in contravention of rules.

The state government has transferred and put on waiting list Rama Raman, who was chairman Noida besides principal secretary UP infrastructure and industrial development and NRI departments; Deepak Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Greater Noida and Noida; and Vijay Kumar Yadav, vice president Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA);

Those transferred and waitlisted also comprise Navneet Sehgal, who headed several key departments and authorities, especially those directly involved in completing the flagship projects of the previous Akhilesh Yadav led SP regime.

Sehgal was principal secretary in the departments of information, tourism and religious endowments, besides Director General (DG) tourism and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) UP Industrial Development Authority and UP State Highways Authority. He was also the additional resident commissioner of UP in New Delhi.

Others put on wait list also include Anita Singh, principal secretary civil aviation and estate departments; Dr Hariom, secretary culture and director culture department; Gurdeep Singh, minerals and mining; Dimple Verma, principal secretary, child development and nutrition; Amit Kumar Ghosh, managing director, UP State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) and UP Small Industries Corporation, and commissioner and director industries.

In all, the Yogi government transferred 20 IAS officers in its first major reshuffled ever since the incumbent regime came to power about three weeks back. In effect, this round of IAS transfers have benched some of the most blue eyed bureaucrats of the previous Akhilesh regime.

Besides, other IAS transferred and given new postings include Avnish Kumar Awasthi, Alok Sinha, Raj Pratap Singh, Anita C Meshram, Mukesh Kumar Meshram, Bhuvnesh Kumar, Ranvir Prasad, Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, Amod Kumar, Pandhari Yadav and Amit Mohan Prasad.

Awasthi, who was recently released by the Centre from his central deputation stint, has joined taken the charge of all the department held so far by Sehgal, who is now on waiting list.

So far, the Yogi government has desisted from transferring IAS and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers after coming to power, as has been the norm during the previous successive regimes.

Akhilesh, on taking over as the UP chief minister on March 15, 2012, had effected the transfer of over 1,000 senior administrative and police officials within a month of taking oath. A majority of those reshuffled were high-rank bureaucrats reckoned loyalists of the previous Mayawati-led BSP regime.

Yadav's predecessor Mayawati, after taking over as the 17th CM of UP on May 13, 2007, had shifted over 200 senior IAS and IPS officers within 3-4 days of taking charge. She had brought in her confidants on key posts for tighter administrative control. Those shifted included former environment secretary R K Sharma, who was brought in as the Panchayati Raj principal secretary. Sharma's name had already figured in the Taj Corridor case.

Besides, fresh postings were also ordered for lucrative and cash-rich state development authorities, including Noida, Greater Noida, Taj Expressway Authority, etc.

However, now as days advance, more transfers are likely to be effected by Yogi to speed up his agenda and reward performing officers.