Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday appointed senior IAS officer Avnish Awasthi, who retired on August 31, as advisor to CM Yogi Adityanath till February 2023, putting an end to all speculation about his new role.
The appointment of Awasthi, a confidante of the chief minister, was confirmed by Governor Anandiben Patel after the creation of a ‘temporary’ post of advisor.
A senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told ThePrint that this is the “first post-retirement appointment” of an advisor to a chief minister in UP in recent years. “Earlier also, officers approaching retirement have been appointed in advisory roles. But they are usually appointed before retirement or on the day of retirement,” the official said.
According to senior government officials, Awasthi, a 1987-batch IAS officer who is seen as the most powerful bureaucrat in the state who sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, “will advise the chief minister on administrative matters”.
Prior to his retirement, Awasthi was looking after the functioning of several important departments like Home, Secrets, Energy, Religious Affairs etc.
Read also: Hours after Yogi’s confidante retires, ‘troubleshooter’ IAS officer transferred ‘closer’ to UP CM
Yogi Confidant, Former DM of Gorakhpur
Awasthi was appointed Additional Chief Secretary (Home) in July 2019 and was overseeing the functioning of this vital department, when the government was preparing its response to the 2020 CAA protests, The midnight cremation of a 20-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras and the use of a bulldozer in Prayagraj to demolish properties owned by those accused of inciting violence earlier this year.
An IIT-Kanpur graduate, he has also served as the District Magistrate of Lalitpur, Azamgarh, Badaun, Faizabad, Varanasi, Meerut and Gorakhpur, the constituency of UP CM Yogi Adityanath.
With the Center remaining silent in Awasthi’s case Extending his service, there was speculation in political circles that he might return to the government in an “advisory role”. His Presence The speculation was added to the meeting of senior state officials and members of the UP Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad in Vrindavan last week.
Apart from Awasthi, Principal Secretary (Tourism) Mukesh Meshram, Vice President of Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad Shailja Kant Mishra, Mathura District Magistrate Navneet Singh Chahal, Additional District Magistrate (Finance) Yoganand Pandey and Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover were also present in the meeting. ,
a week later, UP Additional Chief Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi, in an order issued on Friday evening, confirmed that the governor had approved the creation of the “temporary” post of “advisor to the CM” till February 28, 2023, and Awasthi had been appointed. Post.
“The order is being issued after concurrence [state] was received by the Finance Department on 16 September,” read the order, a copy of which is with ThePrint.
In another order issued by the state’s Department of Appointment and Personnel (DoAP) on Friday, the conditions of their appointment, including allowances, have been mentioned. According to the second order, Awasthi will be treated as a “temporary government servant” during his tenure as advisor to the chief minister.
Other Babus who completed their tenure
However, this is not the first time that a bureaucrat has been appointed as an advisor to the CM in Uttar Pradesh.
On 30 June 2016, 1978-batch IAS Alok Ranjan was appointed Chief Advisor to the then CM Akhilesh Yadav. Ranjan’s appointment was made on the last day of his extension as the chief secretary of the state.
Ranjan, considered close to Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav, was also given the post of cabinet minister.
At the time of his retirement, Ranjan was heading a special committee overseeing the implementation of several of Yadav’s pet projects, including the Gomti Riverfront Project, the Lion Safari in Etawah, the Perfume Park in Kannauj and the Lucknow Metro.
In 2007, Mayawati government’s decision to appoint civil servants from pilot Shashank Shekhar Singh As Cabinet Secretary – One Post Many high Court has dubbed “unconstitutional” – a controversy that had snowballed.
when the matter arrived Supreme courtThe UP government was asked to lay the groundwork for the creation of the post of ‘Cabinet Secretary’ as to how a person who was neither an IAS nor an officer of the State Administrative Service was promoted to such an impressive post.
(Edited by Amritansh Arora)
Read also: How Yogi government is trying to pacify deputy CMs, ministers and stamp out dissent