NEW DELHI: The national capital is likely to get a new chief secretary soon as incumbent Vijay Kumar Dev is set to be shifted to the Centre. Satya Gopal, a 1988 AGMUT cadre officer, who is posted as additional chief secretary in the city and Goa chief secretary Parimal Rai (1985 batch) are said to be the frontrunners for the post. Gopal is considered close to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and also enjoys good rapport with Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal.
According to senior bureaucrats in the Delhi government, Gopal may emerge as a consensus candidate for the top post. They, however, said that current New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) chairman Dharmendra and his predecessor Naresh Kumar might also be considered for the job. Kumar was appointed as the chief secretary of Arunachal Pradesh in July last year.
Another name of a senior IAS officer of AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre, doing the rounds is Manoj Kumar Parida (1986 batch). He is administrator of Chandigarh at present. Parida served in different capacities in the Kejriwal government in its previous term.
Dev’s transfer should have come in July, but the city’s coronavirus situation delayed it, said a senior government official.
“For the last two weeks, there has been a buzz in the bureaucratic circle about Gopal’s elevation, but another senior IAS of the same batch Renu Sharma is also in Delhi. Parida is another contender in the race. Dharmendra or Kumar could be picked for the top job,” said the official. Gopal held the charge of home secretary till June.
He along with Sharma was issued a show-cause for failing to ensure public health standards and strict compliance of orders when migrant workers had gathered at Anand Vihar Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) in March.
They were reinstated last week. Earlier, Gopal served as private secretary to former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha during Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Known for his proximity to former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, Rai’s name cropped up in the 2010 Commonwealth Games scandal, which was highlighted as a scam by the BJP in the run-up to the 2014 general election.
Elated with the appointment of Manoj Sinha as the L-G of Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP leaders in Delhi are hoping to get a political apapointee instead of a career bureaucrat.
“There is no harm in giving the charge to a political person in Delhi. It is true that it has never happened, but it can be tried for better administration,” said a senior BJP functionary.
Close ties with L-G & CM makes Gopal favourite
Satya Gopal, a 1988 AGMUT cadre officer, who is presently posted as additional chief secretary in the city is said to be a frontrunner for the post. Gopal is considered to be close to L-G Anil Baijal and also enjoys a good rapport with the CM Arvind Kerjiwal According to bureaucrats he may emerge as a consensus candidate for the top job