2 former bureaucrats appointed as advisors for Jharkhand

NEW DELHI: Two former bureaucrats were today appointed as advisors for Jharkhand which was placed under President's rule earlier this month.

Wilfred Lakara, a retired 1973-batch IAS officer of Chhattisgarh Cadre, has been appointed as advisor for the second time. He had been made advisor when Jharkhand was put under Central rule in 1999.

Former state Director General of Police Rajiv Ranjan Prasad has also been appointed as advisor, a Home Ministry announcement here said.

President's rule was imposed in the state on June one after the JMM chief Shibu Soren resigned as chief minister and none of the three major political parties could cobble up a simple majority to form the next government.

Prasad, a retired 1970 Batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre, has earlier served in the Intelligence Bureau between 1988-1994.

He retired as the state police chief in May 2007 and is also a Member of the State Security Commission of the Jharkhand government.

Lakara served in 2007 as the Managing Director (Equivalent to Secretary) in the (TRIFED) Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India and thereafter Secretary in Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

He also served as advisor in Jharkhand after President's Rule was imposed on 19th January, 2009.

Jharkhand is one of the focal points of anti-Naxal operations because of its border with other left-wing extremism-affected states like Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal and Bihar.

The Soren government was reduced to a minority on May 24 when BJP, with 18 MLAs and JD(U) with two, withdrew support to it. The JMM, with 18 MLAs and having the support of seven other legislators, was short of the required 42 in the 82-member House.

The BJP took the decision after Soren voted against the cut motions sponsored by the opposition in Lok Sabha on April 27.

Congress, with a strength of 14, and its ally JVM(P) with 11 members, had said it did not have the numbers to stake claim to form a government

Jharkhand, which has seen seven chief ministers since its creation on November 15, 2000, came under President's rule for the first time on January 19, last year, which was extended by six months in July.