IAS officer, who barred media from Gorkahpur counting centre, shifted to Uttarakhand
The Union ministry of personnel and training had on March 16 issued an order allocating Uttarakhand cadre to Rajeev Rautela; the order was made public on March 19
Controversial bureaucrat Rajeev Rautela, who as the district magistrate of Gorakhpur barred the media from accessing details at the Lok Sabha bypoll counting centre, has been transferred to Uttarakhand.
The Uttar Pradesh government had on March 17 promoted Rautela, considered close to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, as divisional commissioner of Devipatan division.
The Union ministry of personnel and training, however, on March 16 had issued an order allocating Uttarakhand cadre to Rautela. The order was made public on March 19.
“The central government, drawing powers conferred under Section 73 (2) of the UP Reorganisation Act, 2000, hereby allocates Uttarakhand (cadre) to Rajeev Rautela, who was working in connection with the affairs of government of Uttar Pradesh, on the recommendation of the State Advisory Committee with effect from November 9, 2000,” states the March 16 missive from union ministry of personnel and training to UP chief secretary, Rajive Kumar.
Rautela would be returning to Uttarakhand almost two years after Allahabad High Court dismissed his petition seeking a stay on the cadre allocation to the hill state.
His petition was dismissed by the high court on August 23, 2016 but the ministry of personnel and training did not take any decision until Rautela’s name hit the headlines during the controversy at the vote counting centre in Gorakhpur. Samajwadi Party won the Gorakpur Lok Sabha seat that was vacated by Adityanath after he took charges as UP CM. Adityanath had held the seat five times.
Those who know how bureaucratic machinery functions, said the timing of cadre allocation seems to be result of politics. After his alleged involvement in blocking the media during the counting of votes, the Opposition parties in UP had lodged a complaint against him with the Election Commission.
Retired IAS officer SS Pangti, who was the first to seek transfer to Uttarakhand (then Uttaranchal) cadre even before the mountain state was carved out of UP, said several administrative officials were asked to join the newly formed state against their wishes and that led to administrative problems.
“I was the first to seek Uttarakhand cadre. There was an IFS official who also sought Uttarakhand cadre but was denied. There have had been a lot of discrepancies as far as cadre allotment is concerned,” said Pangti. “It seems that Rautela has been asked to join (Uttarakhand) as they (UP government) wanted a scapegoat.”
The officials in the department of personnel and training refused to comment.
The UP government is yet to relieve Rautela, a Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officer of the 1982 batch who was promoted to the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) in 2002.
Buzz is that the ball is in UP CM’s court. UP government might ask the official to rejoin in that state on ‘deputation’ once he completes the formality of reporting for duty in Uttarakhand.
In a meeting held in Lucknow last November between Adityanath and Uttarakhand CM TS Rawat, it was decided that nearly 500 officials and employees in both the state will get a last chance to pick the cadre of their choice.