Inside The Secretariat: Race For Critical Minerals, GPSC Appointments, And Bhadoo's Copper Challenge

Dr. Dhaval Patel Goes National

The race for critical minerals is no longer confined to mines—it has now reached the working group table in Delhi. For the 6th National Conference of Chief Secretaries, the Ministry of Mines is constituting a Working Group on Critical Minerals, with Dr. Dhaval Patel, Commissioner of Geology and Mining, nominated as Gujarat’s representative. Interestingly, the group will include representatives from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. This means Gujarat’s mineral resources will now have a place in the national-level discussion on critical minerals, rather than remaining confined to state files. Dr. Dhaval Patel’s responsibility will go beyond the usual “meetings and minutes”. He will coordinate State Specific Notes and Feedback Notes from officials at various levels and ensure their submission on the National Conference portal. In short, the mines may be in Gujarat, but the policy mining is now set to happen in Delhi!

GPSC Now Let Files Fly

For long, vacancies in member positions had raised serious questions over the functioning of the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC). The government has now appointed eight members at one go, giving the Commission a much-needed push. K. L. Bachani (IAS), K. C. Sampat (IAS), K. S. Vasava (IAS, Retd.), Mayur Mehta (IAS), Dipak Kumar Rathod, Dr Shishir Trivedi and Dr Jyoti Iyer have joined the Commission, adding strength to its functioning. The shortage of members had directly affected the recruitment process, particularly interviews and selection stages. With the appointments now in place, long-pending processes are expected to gain momentum. The chairs are finally filled, and the government has even taken the Commission beyond its earlier strength. Now, all eyes are on how fast the recruitment files move. For young aspirants, the message is simple: GPSC has addressed the vacancy problem—now it needs to show speed in delivering results. However, the appointment of one of the members has faced some opposition, adding a minor controversy to what is otherwise a major reshuffle at GPSC. The chairs may be occupied, but the real test now begins.

From Public Outreach To Action

The ‘Jan Sampark Karyalaya’ (Public Outreach Office) at the DGP Office in Gandhinagar appears to be moving beyond merely hearing grievances to delivering tangible outcomes. In eight months, the office has heard 310 representations from across Gujarat, with 28 serious and factually substantiated complaints leading to FIRs. The message is clear: applications cannot simply remain buried in files, and the familiar response of “It has been forwarded to the concerned officer…” is no longer enough. Interestingly, follow-up here appears to be as serious as the filing itself. Progress Reports were sought in 67 cases, ensuring end-to-end monitoring, while legal action was initiated against eight applicants for allegedly submitting false or mala fide representations. The office has also received an “Excellent” response through citizen feedback. The bigger question now is whether this DGP Office public-outreach model will travel down to district police offices—or whether the ‘Excellent’ feedback will remain confined to Gandhinagar!

IAS Chair’s Early Exit

On paper, the retirement age in bureaucracy is fixed, but sometimes the service record settles the account much earlier! In Gujarat, two IAS officers—Gaurav Dahiya and K. Rajesh—have reportedly been compulsorily retired on the same day. While one officer was handling an important responsibility, the other had been under suspension for a long time. This is not the first such case in the country. Rinku Dhugga was compulsorily retired in 2023 in the public interest, while Odisha’s Vinod Kumar faced action against the backdrop of corruption cases. The difference is that in Delhi, a controversy that began at a stadium eventually reached the courts; in Odisha, the cases went to court; and in Gujarat, the government’s compulsory retirement orders have now become the subject of discussion. No matter how high the IAS chair may be, the service-record file can sit even higher—this is the message emerging from these cases. A new saying doing the rounds in the Secretariat goes: “The government gives the posting, but the file writes the final note!” The question now is whether these two cases will remain limited to two individuals, or whether more ‘service review files’ could soon be opened in Gujarat’s bureaucracy!

GSSSB Chief Gets Extension

Gujarat Subordinate Services Selection Board (GSSSB) Chairman Tushar Dholakia has been given a two-year extension on the very day his tenure was due to end. He will now continue to head the board until 2028. The government’s decision comes ahead of several major Class-III recruitment processes, with continuity in leadership cited as a key consideration. A 2009-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, Dholakia has been heading GSSSB since January 2025. He comes from a civil engineering background and, before joining the IAS, served as an Assistant Executive Engineer and later Executive Engineer in the Water Resources Department. His appointment came at a time when the board had remained without a regular chairman for a considerable period. The GSSSB primarily handles recruitment and competitive examinations for Class-III posts across various departments of the Gujarat government, including the examination, selection and recruitment process.

Bhadoo’s Copper Challenge!

IAS officer Ajay Bhadoo, a 1999-batch officer who has recently returned from deputation, has been chosen by the Gujarat government as the Managing Director of Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC). His first major assignment could be the Ambaji Copper Mines project, for which his predecessor, Roopwant Singh, had prepared a ₹1,000-crore action plan. The project is expected to emerge as one of the attractions of the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. India currently imports around 90% of its copper requirement, while the Ambaji project has the potential to significantly strengthen domestic supply. Spread across 185 hectares, the mine contains copper along with lead, zinc and gold. According to GMDC estimates, the project has around 10 million tonnes of copper deposits, with the total asset value estimated at around ₹22,000 crore. The Ambaji Copper Project is therefore likely to be a key priority for Ajay Bhadu as he takes charge of GMDC, and could become an important milestone in Gujarat’s strategic minerals and mining sector.

Six IAS Vacancies In Quick Time!

Shortage of IAS officers often impacts the functioning of the administrative machinery, although such vacancies and reshuffles are part of the continuing process of governance. With the shortage persisting, dozens of IAS officers are currently handling additional charges, putting multiple duties on the same officers. Recently, the Gujarat government appointed four IAS officers—K.L. Bachani, K.C. Sampat, Mayur Mehta and H.J. Prajapati—as members of the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC), filling vacancies there. At the same time, the government compulsorily retired K. Rajesh and Gaurav Dahiya amid corruption-related allegations. As a result, six positions in the administrative setup have effectively fallen vacant, with additional charges being assigned for the time being. Among these, the Managing Director of iNDEXTb post needs to be filled on priority, particularly with the Vibrant Gujarat Summit approaching and the agency’s role in investment promotion and investor facilitation gaining importance. With empty chairs multiplying and additional charges piling up, the Secretariat is now watching when the government will finally open its transfer-and-posting card.

Gujarat Gets Eyes On Every Street!

The successful CCTV model of Ahmedabad is now set to be expanded across Gujarat. Over the past two years, more than 24,000 cameras have been installed in Ahmedabad through public participation, helping the police in crime prevention and detection. Now, State Police Chief Gyanendra Singh Malik has directed the police machinery to take this model statewide. Gujarat currently has more than 3.88 lakh private CCTV cameras, but the focus is now on expanding coverage of public roads, parking areas and society entry-exit points. Police Commissioners and district police chiefs will engage with housing societies, traders’ associations and citizens to encourage wider CCTV coverage. In other words, having a camera inside the gate will no longer be enough—the eyes of the camera will now have to reach the road outside the gate! The police chief has also stressed the use of night-vision cameras, 4MP or higher resolution and adequate video backup. If police officials pursue the initiative with determination, Ahmedabad’s experiment could evolve into a statewide security model for Gujarat.