Tehri DM gets call to join PMO
Dehradun: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's affection for Uttarakhand came to fore again when the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) cleared the appointment of Uttarakhand cadre IAS Mangesh Ghildiyal who had been district magistrate of Rudraprayag district and brought all around development in the revered Kedarnath shrine.
On Friday evening, the news of Ghildiyal's appointment as under secretary in the PMO, spread like a wildfire and scores of villagers near Kedarnath shrine, burst into celebrations. Ghildiyal at present is holding the charge of DM Tehri and is likely to join the prestigious assignment in a week after getting relieved from the state government.
Villagers recall how disguising as a tourist, Ghilldyal used to travel in Rudraprayag to see how the Kedarnath Yatra is being managed by the lower level officials. Rajinder Joshi, a social commentator, said, "Ghilldyal had no airs and always worked with the human touch and I think that's the reason that he made it to the PMO.
CM Trivendra Singh Rawat lauded the PM for giving Ghildiyal an opportunity to serve the country. "My best wishes for him for the next posting in the PMO. I am confident that he would make all of us proud," said the CM. In February this year, Ghildyal had been transferred to Tehri from the Rudrapryag district by the state government. Commenting on the development, former Garhwal commissioner, retired IAS, SS Pangti said, "After serving a hill as a DM, immensely enriches a civil servant and I am sure he would add more, bring a fresh prescriptive and developmental strategy models."
Apart from Ghildiyal, Raghuraj Rajendran, Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer of 2004 batch, has been appointed as Director in the PMO and Amrapali Kata, Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS officer of 2010 batch, has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the PMO. She was serving as Deputy Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat.
Interestingly, among other top bureaucrats, National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawate and former RAW chief Anil Dhasmana, belong to Uttarakhand background.
