Senior IAS officer Shatrughna Singh appointed Uttarakhand Chief Secretary

DEHRADUN: Senior IAS officer Shatrughna Singh has been appointed as Uttarakhand Chief Secretary, thus putting an end to a fortnight long stand-off between the Centre and the state government over the appointment.

"A government order on Shatrughna Singh's appointment as the new Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand was issued late last night," Principal Secretary (Personnel) Radha Raturi said here today.

The Centre and the state government had locked horns over the reappointment of Rakesh Sharma to the post of Chief Secretary following his retirement on October 31.

The Centre had rejected Sharma's reappointment and asked the state government to replace him immediately.

The state government, however, took about a fortnight to comply with the order as it was weighing available options.

A letter from the DoPT to the state government dated November 3 had said it was a cadre post to which reappointment of a non-cadre official could not be made when suitable officers were available in the cadre for appointment to the post.

An IAS officer of the 1983 batch, Shatrughna Singh had returned here last month from a deputation at the Centre and was serving as the additional Chief Secretary.

His tenure as Chief Secretary will last till December 2016, Raturi said.

Raturi also noted that Rakesh Sharma has been appointed for a year on contract as Chief Principal Secretary in the CMO.

Apart from assisting and advising the state government in implementation of projects and framing of policies, Sharma will also be authorised to attend meetings of the state Cabinet, the official added.