The sudden suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal by the Uttar Pradesh government has snowballed into a major controversy with the Centre on Wednesday seeking a detailed report on the issue from the state administration. The issue dominated the political space as well with parties, cutting across political formations, launching a scathing attack on the Akhilesh Yadav government.
Minister of state for personnel V. Narayanasamy said the course of action would be decided once the state government forwards the report to the Centre. “The IAS officers’ association will also be meeting me on Thursday to lodge their protest,” Mr Narayansamy said.
DoPT sources said though transfer postings of IAS officers is the prerogative of the concerned state government or cadre, the Centre can intervene if it feels service norms have been violated. The DoPT is the overall cadre-controlling agen-cy for the IAS. Sources said the Centre would intervene once the state government forwards its report. “If we feel the suspension violates service rules we can issue a directive to look into the issue all over again,” an official said. Ms Nagpal, as sub-divisional magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, had cracked down on the sand mafia in that area.