15 days after Dharam Pal’s retirement, MHA yet to decide on next Chandigarh adviser
This is possibly the first time that MHA has not cleared the name of the new Chandigarh adviser even after two weeks of the post falling vacant
Over two weeks after UT adviser Dharam Pal retired on October 31, the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has yet to finalise his successor.
Following Dharam Pal’s retirement, the additional charge of the post was given to UT home secretary Nitin Yadav.
This is possibly the first time that MHA has not cleared the name of the new UT adviser even after two weeks of the post falling vacant.
A senior UT officer said the new adviser was expected to be announced in the next few days.
The names of four senior IAS officers, including the chief secretaries of Goa and Arunachal Pradesh, are doing the rounds for the post.
As per sources among those in the race of the post are Arunachal Pradesh chief secretary Dharmendra and principal secretary Dr Sharad Chauhan, both AGMUT-cadre officers from 1989 and 1994 batches, respectively.
Others vying for the post are Goa chief secretary Dr Puneet Kumar Goel, a 1991-batch AGMUT-cadre officer, and New Delhi municipal corporation chairperson Amit Yadav, also from the same batch.
As per sources, Chauhan is the front runner for the post.
Dharam Pal, a 1988-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre and an alumnus of Punjab Engineering College, had joined the UT administration amid the Covid pandemic in June 2021, taking over from Manoj Parida, a 1986-batch officer from the same cadre.
