In 1st Reshuffle, Yogi Adityanath Moves Out Close Aides Of Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: Three weeks into his term as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath has effected a major reshuffle of bureaucrats, transferring 20 senior IAS officers including Navneet Sehgal, who was Principal Secretary (Information) and was seen to be very powerful in the previous Akhilesh Yadav regime of the Samajwadi Party. Anita Singh, who was Principal Secretary to Chief Minister in Mr Yadav's tenure, has also been transferred.

Two close aides of Akhilesh Yadav, Amor Kumar and Pandhari Yadav, have been removed and posted as members (Judicial) of the Revenue Board in Allahabad.

Navneet Sehgal has been divested of all his assignments and has been replaced in all of them by Avanish Kumar Awasthi, a UP cadre officer who was posted at the Centre and who has been sent back to the state on the request of the new Chief Minister.

Mr Sehgal also held charge of Religious Affairs and Tourism and was the CEO of several state-run companies. He has been put on a waitlist for his next posting as have most of the other officers who have been transferred out today to make way for those picked by the BJP government.

Mr Awasthi, who was Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has earlier served as District Magistrate in Gorakhpur, the parliamentary seat that Yogi Adityanath has been elected to five times since 1998. He was also District Magistrate in Varanasi, Prime Minster Narendra Modi's parliamentary seat, apart from several other districts in UP.  

While earlier chief ministers have removed senior bureaucrats from key posts immediately after taking charge, Yogi Adityanath waited for almost three weeks before his first major reshuffle. He took oath on March 19 after the BJP won the state by a landslide.

Among other changes, Rama Raman, Principal Secretary in Industrial and Infrastructure Development Department and Chairman of Noida Authority, has also been put in the list officers waiting for a new posting.

Meerut Divisional Commissioner Alok Sinha has been named the new Principal Secretary of the Industrial and Infrastructure Development Department.

Gurdeep Singh, Principal Secretary of Mining Department, has also been wait-listed. He has been replaced by RP Singh.

Dimple Verma, Principal Secretary in Child Development Department, has also been shunted out. Anita Meshram has been named the new Secretary of the department.

Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Bhuvnesh Kumar and UPSIDC Managing Director Amit Kumar Ghosh have also been removed. Ranveer Prasad has been given the charge of UPSIDC as Managing Director.

Mrityunjaya Kumar Narayan has been named Secretary to the new Chief Minister.

The CEO of Greater Noida and Noida authorities, Deepak Agarwal, has also been divested of his position. Amit Mohan Prasad, Investment Commissioner of UP, posted in New Delhi, replaces Agarwal.

Vijay Kumar Yadav, Vice Chairman of the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA), has also been shifted out.

(With inputs from IANS)