Inside The Secretariat: DGF Post Eludes Jaipal Singh, GRT Chairman Out

DGF Chair Eludes Jaipal Singh

Gujarat’s forest chief Jaipal Singh has missed out on the coveted post of Director General of Forests (DGF) & Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), with the Centre choosing Santosh Kumar Tiwari at the last moment. Tiwari, a 1993-batch Bihar cadre officer with around 32 years of forest service experience, has also served as Director General of the Forest Survey of India (FSI). He has replaced Sushil Kumar Awasthi, who recently retired from the post. Jaipal Singh, a 1991-batch Gujarat cadre officer, was considered among the senior and experienced contenders for the country’s top forest post. The Gujarat government had initially given its consent for his consideration, but the move did not materialise at the final stage, leaving Singh to continue in Gujarat. Singh is currently serving as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HoFF), Gujarat.

Rank Drives, Files Crawl

It now appears that in Gujarat’s administrative system, even a government vehicle will leave the garage only after checking the rank of the officer it is meant for. The state government’s new vehicle policy has prescribed different categories and price limits for ministers, the Chief Secretary, secretaries, collectors, and other officials. While ministers and the Chief Secretary are entitled to vehicles costing up to approximately ₹36 lakh, other officials have been assigned vehicle categories based on their respective ranks. The policy also stipulates that any purchase outside the prescribed category will require prior approval, supported by valid reasons. Rules and procedures have their place, but the real test lies not in the spending limit, but in the results delivered against the expenditure. There is a wry observation doing the rounds among visitors to the Secretariat: the file may travel on a bicycle, but the officer drafting it must be seen travelling in a well-polished car!

GRT Sees A ‘Premature Exit’

After two IAS officers were given premature retirement last week, the government has now sprung another surprise—this time in the legal establishment. Atul J. Raval, Chairman of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal (GRT), has been removed a year before the end of his tenure. A judicial-cadre officer, Raval headed the tribunal that hears appeals against land-related decisions of district collectors and revenue authorities. The move has triggered speculation in the Secretariat, with a land-related case being discussed as a possible factor, though no official reason has been disclosed. The GRT generally comprises two judicial members and one government representative. Raval’s early removal has therefore raised eyebrows in legal and administrative circles. After the IAS, ‘Premature Exit’ has now reached the Judicial Cadre—adding a new twist to the Secretariat’s growing succession of abrupt exits.

Quarters Await, Files Redevelop!

The state government has opened the way for a uniform policy for redevelopment of residential quarters in various GIDC estates. The 2022 circular is being scrapped, with a fresh policy proposed around three key conditions — no TDR, a maximum height of 11 metres, and a dedicated fire station in every GIDC estate. The interesting part? The policy is to be uniform, but GIDC itself will have to arrange fire stations in every estate. So, redevelopment is no longer just about bricks and concrete — the fire station has become part of the ‘package deal’. The quarters may or may not rise higher, but the responsibility for fire safety certainly will! And here comes the classic bureaucratic twist: one department amended the framework, another began the process of scrapping the old circular, and now GIDC has to formulate a fresh policy. In short, the files have started their own redevelopment even before the quarters!

Experience Takes The Lead

The Gujarat administration continues to draw on the expertise of experienced officers even after their retirement. Retired IAS officer B. J. Patel has now been appointed Chairman of Gujarat’s State Level Expert Appraisal Committee-2 (SEAC-2). The appointment follows an amendment to a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Expert committees play a crucial role in environmental appraisal of industrial projects, infrastructure development and urban expansion. In this context, B. J. Patel’s responsibility as Chairman of SEAC-2 extends beyond overseeing the committee’s functioning. Ensuring a sound expert approach and maintaining regulatory discipline in the environmental appraisal process will also be important aspects of the role. The key question now is how effectively SEAC-2 advances the environmental appraisal process under his leadership and ensures that the balance between development and environmental protection is maintained in practice.

Rahul Gupta’s Sporting Sprint

Amid preparations for the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics, Gujarat’s own Khel Mahakumbh is also in full swing. A total of 7.6 million registrations have been recorded, including 3.058 million women. Impressive numbers, indeed! But with a shortage of sports grounds and physical education teachers across the state, participation is growing by leaps and bounds. Whether the sporting infrastructure and training environment are keeping pace with this growth remains a question worth asking. On one side are the preparations for the Commonwealth Games; on the other is Khel Mahakumbh, scheduled to continue until January 2027. Managing both is a major administrative challenge. For Sports Secretary Dr Rahul Gupta and Sports Authority of Gujarat Secretary M.R. Prajapati, the scope of responsibilities involving planning, coordination and reviews has naturally expanded. For now, Khel Mahakumbh’s registration scoreboard looks impressive. The next priority is to ensure that the scoreboard for sports grounds and coaching catches up.

Time-Bound Action On Verdicts

After a High Court verdict, how long a file keeps moving from table to table may now have a deadline. The Gujarat government has introduced a new Time-Bound SOP for all administrative departments. If the verdict is accepted, implement it immediately; if an appeal is to be filed, complete the process within the prescribed timeline—in short, ‘The verdict is here, now a decision has to be made!’ Appeal proposals must now have all documents, notes, hyperlinks and checklists in place. The familiar last-minute practice of pushing a file to the Law Department and saying, ‘We ran out of time…’ is set to become harder. If the file moves late, accountability will move with it! If a verdict cannot be implemented within the prescribed period, the department will have to approach the court for a Time Extension instead of waiting until the deadline expires. And if an officer is found responsible for missing the timeline, action may follow under the applicable rules. Put simply, a High Court order is now a file for ‘Action Taken’, not another file marked ‘Pending’.

Zero Compromise On Quality!

At the Roads & Buildings Department’s Chintan Shibir, the Gujarat Chief Minister’s message to engineers was crystal clear — “I may give promotions even at midnight, but I will not accept substandard work.” The remark has since become a talking point in the Secretariat. For R&B engineers, the warning is significant: a good road earns credit for the government, but a pothole means the phone rings directly for the engineer. The Chief Minister also sent a clear signal to engineers and contractors: “An inadvertent mistake can be corrected, but a deliberate mistake cannot be forgiven.” Going forward, SOP compliance from tendering to execution will have to be demonstrated on the ground, not merely on paper. Meanwhile, GPI for officials and Performance Rating and QCBS for contractors are also being introduced.