Kolkata: Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi has got an extension of service for six months till December 31 this year.
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Department of Personnel & Training has written to the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms in the State giving an extension of service of Dwivedi. He became chief secretary on June 1, 2021, following the retirement of Alapan Bandyopadhyay.
Dwivedi had served in a number of important bureaucratic positions in the state, with his longest stint being with the state finance department first as a principal secretary and then as an additional chief secretary for nine years. He also held the post of additional chief secretary, home and hill affairs in the Bengal government. In addition to home and hill affairs, Dwivedi also held the charge of the departments of parliamentary affairs, planning and statistics and programme monitoring.
Dwivedi, a 1988-batch IAS officer who was to retire on Friday, will now continue as the state chief secretary till December as the Centre has approved his extension from July 1 to December 31. The state government in March this year had written to the Union Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) requesting an extension of Dwivedi’s service for another six months, a source said.
The issue of Dwivedi’s extension had been going through lots of speculation for quite some time as the Leader of Opposition in State Assembly Suvendu Adhikari had opposed the proposal by the state government.
State government did not receive any reply from the Centre till yesterday. The order issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Department of Personnel & Training, dated June 28 was received by the state on Friday, sources said. According to sources, the approval reached the office of the additional chief secretary to the state personnel & administrative reforms department at around 12.15 p.m. State government has heaved a sigh after the approval reached the State Secretariat at Nabanna as the Panchayat election in the state is going to be held on July 8.