UP blinks, removes Rama Raman as Noida CEO

Nearly two months after the Allahabad high court had frozen the powers of senior IAS officer Rama Raman, the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday relieved him of the charge of CEO, Noida Authority. Raman hasn't yet been given a new charge.

Till July 1, 2016 Raman was chairman and CEO of Noida Authority and chairman of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna expressway development authorities. From July 18, he was designated as only Noida CEO.

The government, meanwhile, appointed Monika Garg, a 1989-batch IAS officer, currently the principal secretary , technical education and khadi gram udyog, as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in Noida Authority . She will hold both the posts together. Earlier, Garg had functioned as CEO, Noida Authority for three months from May 2007. During her short stint that time, she drafted the city's Citizen's Charter with an objective to achieve simple, transparent, accountable and responsive administration to fulfil the needs of the residents, said officials.

According to sources, Garg's posting could be a stopgap arrangement to ensure that Noida's infrastructure projects do not face a lull or delay due to the absence of a functional CEO. The most important project, which can take a hit if the post of CEO continues to remain vacant is the Rs 5533 crore under-construction Metro between Noida and Greater Noida.

The Allahabad high court was supposed to hear the matter regarding Raman's appointment on August 24, but it could not be taken up due to lack of time. The case has now been listed for September 5 as Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale will not be available till then.The chief justice is currently attending hearings at the Lucknow bench. All eyes are now on the next hearing.