Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday confirmed that senior IAS officer, Gagan Dhal had resigned and attributed it to ‘personal and family reasons’.
Reacting to media reports that Dhal, currently serving as agriculture production commissioner (APC), had quit after the government appointed Asit Tripathy as the chief secretary, a press release issued by the General Administration Department said Dhal had quit on August 6.
“The government is examining his application,” it added.
Speculation was rife that Dhal had put in his papers after the government decided that Tripathy, a 1986 batch IAS officer, would replace Aditya Padhi, a 1983-batch IAS officer, as the state’s Chief Secretary.
Dhal belongs to the 1985 batch and is due to superannuate from government service in January, 2020.
While Dhal refused to comment on the issue, government sources said it was unlikely that he would have resigned because Tripathy superseded him. On Thursday, the government appointed School and Mass Education Secretary, Pradipta Mohapatra as the new APC. He is expected to assume charge soon.
However, Dhal’s case is still unclear as official sources said he has, in his resignation letter, mentioned that he does not want to avail the pensionary benefits. There is also talk doing the rounds that the government might offer Dhal a new assignment or he might plunge into politics.
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