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Durga Shakti Nagpal

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See also: Mining scam in India
Durga Shakti Nagpal
File:Durga Nagpal.jpg
Born (1985-06-25) 25 June 1985 (age 39)
NationalityIndian
Years active2010 - current
EmployerGovernment of India
OrganizationIndian Administrative Service
Known forActing against corruption and illegal sand mining.
SpouseAbhishek Singh[1][2]

Durga Shakti Nagpal (born 25 June 1985)[3] is an IAS officer of the 2010 cadre.[4] She came into public view after taking action against corruption and launching a massive drive against illegal sand mining within her jurisdiction of Gautam Budh Nagar. She was later suspended by the government of Uttar Pradesh, which justified the order by citing an unrelated improper administrative action by her.[5] Her suspension resulted in a backlash against the government's order,[6] which was perceived to be based on flimsy grounds and there is a growing demand by social media,[7][8] opposition political parties and IAS Officers' associations for her suspension to be revoked.[9][10][11][12]

Education

Durga Shakti Nagpal belongs to Chattisgarh and has a degree in computer engineering. She secured an all-India rank of 20 in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations in 2009. She spent over two years in Punjab as an officer-under-training with the Mohali administration.[2][4]

Career

Ms. Nagpal was initially an officer in the Punjab cadre, and she changed to Uttar Pradesh (UP) cadre after her marriage to Abhishek Singh, who was an IAS officer in the UP cadre. She was posted in Ghaziabad as a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in September 2012.[4] She then got appointed as SDM of Gautam Budh Nagar. She came into public notice after acting against the sand mafia in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. The 2009-batch IAS officer, posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Gautam Budh Nagar, had clamped down on illegal mining and taken on the powerful sand mafia by forming special flying squads to stop the illegal sand-mining in the Yamuna and Hindon river banks. She had ordered the arrest of 15 people and imposed a fine of ₹2 crore (US$239,638) on them. She had confiscated 24 dumpers and 300 trolleys which were engaged in the illegal operation in the week preceding her suspension.[13][14]

Crackdown of illegal mining

See also: Sand mining in India

Most of the sand-mining activity in the NCR region, comprising Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Faridabad (Haryana) and Delhi, is illegal as no environment impact assessment (EIA) has been carried out; and it is estimated that about 250 to 350 truckloads of sand is illegally dredged every day. The cost of this sand varies from ₹100 crore (US$12 million) per month[15] to ₹500 crore (US$60 million) per annum.[16] According to environmentalists, the massive amount of mining is responsible for soil-erosion and changing the natural flow of the Yamuna and Hindon rivers. In Noida, a "Special Mining Squad" was established by the district administration to curb sand mining and was expected to succeed,[17][18] but high demand of sand for increased construction activity, police inaction[19] and the political nexus with the mafia has ensured that various rules to safeguard the environment are regularly flouted.[20][21][22][23]

Ms. Nagpal oversaw a massive operation to stop illegal sand mining in the Gautam Buddh Nagar district, and used surprise and secrecy to arrest illegal miners and confiscate their machinery.[24] On July 23, 2013, Ms. Nagpal had said that she would take strict action against unauthorized dredgers which were engaged in illegal mining, which could lead to severe environmental consequences. Since April 2013, the Uttar Pradesh Police had filed 17 FIRs and in 22 cases, the chief judicial magistrates had ordered the arrest of illegal sand dredgers. From April to June 2013, the police has impounded 297 vehicles and machinery used for illegal mining and collected Rs 82.34 lakh in fines. Under Ms. Nagpal, a joint operation involving the revenue, police and transport departments was launched and villages like Asgarpur, Nangla Wajidpur, Gulavli, Kambakshpur, Jaganpur Chaproli were monitored.[25] On 25 July, the government transferred the mining officer of the Gautam Budh Nagar district Ashish Kumar to Bulandshahr. He was assisting Ms. Nagpal in the administrative crackdown.[26]

On the night of 29 July 2013, the Gautam Buddha Nagar police arrested 15 persons and confiscated 26 vehicles in the district and registered seven cases, some of which were in Dankaur and Greater Noida areas.[27]

Suspension

Ms. Nagpal was suspended after she inspected an under-construction mosque in the Rabupura area of Greater Noida. The construction of the mosque had not been cleared by the state government. She had served for ten months in her first posting in the state. It is alleged that Samajwadi party leader Narendra Bhati was unhappy about the officer's drive against illegal mining and her strong action against the sand-mining mafia in the state, and was reportedly responsible for getting her abruptly suspended.[28][29] Due to her percieved work against corruption, she falls into the list of civil services officers like Satyendra Dubey and Ashok Khemka who have fought against corruption in various levels of the Indian administration and have faced backlash for their work.[1][30]

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal supported Ms. Nagpal on 29 July 2013, saying that the decision of the government indicated "that politics and politicians are turning dirty" and that "whatever took place with Durgaji is extremely wrong." He criticised the government for not letting whistle blowers and honest officers work freely and praised Ms. Nagpal for carrying out her duties fearlessly.[31] Social media and Kiran Bedi protested against the IAS officer's suspension.[32] Several IAS officers have now come out in support of Ms. Nagpal, and have asked the Chief Secretary to revoke her suspension.[33] The All India IAS Association, a national body of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, termed the government's actions "wrong" and believes that Ms. Nagpal was suspended due to her stringent actions which hurt the sand-mafia. It has demanded immediate revocation of her suspension, and called the incident "demoralising" for young IAS officers.[34][35] The collective voicing of these concerns by the state's IAS officers was deemed unusual and surprised the ruling Samajwadi Party. Senior officers have attributed this backlash to the general feeling of discontentment in the officer cadre, which they say is due to increasing political interference in public administration.[36] The opposition parties in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party accused the state government of ignoring the rule of law and protecting criminals.[14]

The Samajwadi Party government said in a statement that Ms. Nagpal was suspended for demolishing a mosque's wall and the Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav justified the order saying that Nagpal's actions "lacked foresight and disturbed communal harmony" ans she was suspended due to "administrative compulsion to ease communal tension".[13][35][37][38] This was later refuted by reports that the area had not reported any communal tension. The Station Officer of Rabupura police station said that since the demolition took place in night, most residents were not even aware of the incident.[39] The demolition was reportedly executed in compliance to Supreme Court orders forbidding construction of illegal religious structures on public land.[40] After the IAS officers' association protested on 29 July, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary said that the decision will be reviewed.[14]

After the suspension, Ms. Nagpal was attached to the Board of Revenue in Lucknow, the state capital. On 31 July, the Government of India said that they are awaiting a detailed report on her suspension from the Government of Uttar Pradesh within 15 days.[41][42]

Public-interest litigation

The suspension order of Ms. Nagpal was challenged in the Allahabad High Court on 30 July 2013 through a Public interest litigation (PIL) plea. The petition, filed by social activist Nutan Thakur at the Lucknow bench of the court, is likely to come up for hearing on 1 August 2013. It also requested the court to direct the central government to ask the state governments to prevent harassment of those officers who have ordered action against illegal construction of religious places, and illegal mining.[43][44]

Government of India Intervention

Centre assured that justice will be done to suspended the IAS officer. The assurance was given by Minister of State for Personnel V. Narayanasamy during a meeting with delegation of All India IAS Officers' Association. But Uttar Pradesh Government's Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav is still in justification mode.[45][46] But UPA Government is not showing much interest in this case, because of vote bank politics.[47]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Local magistrate Durga leads clampdown on Noida's sand mafia". Daily Mail.
  2. ^ a b "Punjab babus condemn Noida IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal's suspension, demand reinstatement". The Times of India. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  3. ^ "IAS Officers' Civil List Information System". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "Who is Durga Shakti Nagpal, the fearless IAS officer who took on the mighty sand mafia?". Dainik Bhaskar. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Akhilesh ji, remember Durga Shakti, she is future Kiran Bedi". Oneindia.
  6. ^ "India unites against Suspension of IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal". Bihar Prabha. 29 July 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accdurga-shakti-nagpalessdate= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Netizens come out in support of suspended UP SDM Durga". Daily Pioneer. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Netizens slam Akhilesh govt for 'shooting the messenger'". The Times of India. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  9. ^ "IAS Officer Durga Shakti Nagpal Suspended for Tackling UP's Sand Mafia". India Times. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  10. ^ "UP IAS officers rally behind daring officer Durga Shakti Nagpal". DNA India. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  11. ^ "IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal suspended, centre awaits report from Uttar Pradesh govt". Indian Express. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  12. ^ "U.P. IAS officers, Opposition slam Nagpal's suspension". The Hindu. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  13. ^ a b "IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal suspended after clamping down on UP sand mafia". India today. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  14. ^ a b c "IAS officers rally around suspended officer; she took on sand mafia". NDTV.
  15. ^ "Two held for illegal sand mining". Vijay Chowk. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  16. ^ "Sand mafia 'back' in action". The Times of India. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  17. ^ "No check on illegal sand mining in Noida". The Times of India. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  18. ^ "Grains of Despair: Sand mining in India". CSE India. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  19. ^ "Cops' Inaction Gives Sand Mafia A Free Run". Yamuna News. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  20. ^ "Most sand mining in NCR illegal: Activists". Hindustan Times. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  21. ^ "Downpour halts illegal sand mining". The Times of India. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  22. ^ "Illegal sand mining thrives in Noida". The Times of India. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  23. ^ "Mafia thrives as Noida fails to curb sand mining". National Green Tribunal Association Bar. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  24. ^ "104 arrests in 6 months: Noida IAS officer's sand mafia crackdown". The Indian Express. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  25. ^ "Durga IAS takes on Noida sand mafia". Times of India. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  26. ^ "Government pulled two thorns out of sand mafia's side in a week". The Times of India. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  27. ^ "Police arrest 15 during crack down on illegal mining, impound 26 vehicles". IBN Live. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  28. ^ "UP government to chargesheet suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal". IBN Live. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  29. ^ "SP leader blames SDM but denies role in suspension". The Times of India. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  30. ^ "IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal suspended after clamping down on UP sand mafia". India Today.
  31. ^ "Akhilesh in no hurry to revoke SDM's suspension". Indian Express.
  32. ^ "Kiran Bedi protest against IAS officer's suspension". One India.
  33. ^ "Opposition slam Nagpal's suspension". The Hindu.
  34. ^ "Revoke suspension of Durga Sakthi Nagpal: IAS officers body". Business Standard. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  35. ^ a b "IAS officer Durga's action could've led to riots: UP minister". IBN Live. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  36. ^ "Combative UP bureaucrats stump Akhilesh Yadav". Business Standard. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  37. ^ John, Karuna (2013-07-31). "Village fights its battle to rebuild mosque wall demolished on orders of IAS officer Durga Shakti". India Today. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  38. ^ "SDM leading crackdown on illegal mining suspended". Times of India.
  39. ^ "Local police nail Akhilesh's lie on IAS officer Durga Shakti's suspension". The Times of India. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  40. ^ "SP ministers' bizarre defence for suspending IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal". 2013-07-31. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  41. ^ "Nagpal suspension: Centre awaits report from UP govt". The Hindu. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  42. ^ "DoPT cites rules on keeping mum on suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal's case". The Times of India. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  43. ^ "PIL challenges suspension of UP IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal". Zee News. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  44. ^ "Petition seeks recall of suspended IAS officer". The New Indian Express.
  45. ^ "Akhilesh defends IAS officer's suspension, Centre says justice will be done". The Indian Express.
  46. ^ "Akhilesh Yadav justifies IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal's suspension". Zee Media.
  47. ^ "Why Congress might sacrifice Durga Shakti Nagpal for ally SP". Firstpost India.

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