The UP IAS officers association, that included over 100 IAS officers, met the acting chief secretary Alok Ranjan and demanded the immediate revocation of the suspension order issue to the 2009 batch IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, who was fighting hard to prevent sand mining along the Yamuna and Hindon rivers in western Uttar Pradesh.
UP IAS Association secretary Parthasarthy Sen Sharma told reporters that the association felt the suspension was unclad for and urged the chief secretary to revoke it. The suspended officer, Durga Shakti Nagpal, also accompanied the association members for the meeting with Mr Alok Ranjan, who said the entire matter would be put before the chief minister on his return from Bengaluru.
However, Mr Akhilesh Yadav, speaking to the media in Bengaluru said on Monday that there was no need to start a debate on the officer’s suspension which he described as an administrative decision.
Ms Nagpal, a Punjab cadre IAS officer, during her ten-month tenure, had come down heavily on unauthorised mining in the district and had got two dozen FIRs lodged against those involved in this illegal practise apart from the seizure of 24 dumpers engaged in this illegal quarrying resulting in the arrest of 15 persons. She had also asserted that there would be no let up in the fight against unauthorised dredging.
In recent months, Nagpal had seized nearly 300 trolleys of sand and slapped a fine of over `2 crores on the offenders.
The IAS officers association claim that Ms Nagpal is being removed at the instance of local SP leader Narendra Bhatti.
But the ostensible reason being given by the UP state government to justify her suspension is that Nagpal was being penalised for demolishing a wall of a disputed place of worship in Greater Noida on Saturday.
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, justifying his decision on a micro blogging site on Twitter said, “This is an administrative decision. She had ordered demolition of the wall at a place of worship.”
Rival political parties have slammed the SP government alleging that the suspension order was done under pressure from the mining mafia. Questioning the order, BJP leader Kalraj Mishra asked, “What mistake has she made ? It is felt that she (Durga Shakti Nagpal) was suspended under the influence of the mafia.” Her suspension has proved to be the proverbial last straw for the beleaguered IAS fraternity who are being routinely criticised by the chief minister for stalling development in the state.
RTI activist Nutun Thakur, meanwhile, has requested the secretary, department of personnel and training, for a detailed report on Ms Nagpal’s suspension and has demanded its withdrawal if found illegal and improper.