Sanjiv Mittal given additional charge as Nehru Museum director

A senior Culture Ministry official was on Monday given the additional charge of Director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, following the controversial exit of Mahesh Rangarajan from the post last week.

Sanjiv Mittal, Joint Secretary with the Ministry of Culture, has been given the additional charge of NMML Director, sources said.

“It is an interim arrangement as another Joint Secretary, who was supposed to be given the (in-charge) Director post of NMML is on leave. We did not want to keep the Director’s post vacant. Henceforth, he has been given the additional charge,” a ministry official said.

As soon as the joint secretary who is on leave returns, the additional charge would be handed over to that official, the sources said, adding that Mittal would be holding the in-charge of Director’s post till then.

Mittal is already holding the additional charge of Director General of National Museum situated here.

Official sources further said that an expert to fill the post of NMML Director will be identified by a search committee, which would be constituted for the purpose. Following the resignation of Rangarajan last week, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma had said a search committee would be formed to find out a suitable person to fill the post immediately. Rangarajan had resigned after Sharma criticised his appointment calling it “illegal and unethical”.

Sharma had said that the UPA government went ahead with the decision on the permanent absorption of Rangarajan for the post despite the Election Commission writing a letter on May 12, 2014 to the Culture Ministry asking it to defer the proposal till the election process was over. On May 14 last year, a cabinet committee meeting decided that Director of Nehru Memorial will be appointed, Sharma had said, adding that despite EC orders, Rangarajan was given the post on May 19 on permanent absorption basis till retirement.