New Delhi/ Dehradun: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman and Senior IAS officer Sukhbir Singh Sandhu has been appointed the new Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand, which happens to be his native state. Sandhu was relieved on Monday only by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). As per his relieving letter signed by Srinivas R. Ratikithala, Secretary, ACC, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu (IAS) is transferred to his original cadre at the request of the State Government. As soon as Sandhu was reported to be returning to the state on Monday afternoon, there were speculations about the removal of Chief Secretary Om Prakash (IAS).
According to sources close to the state government, the outgoing Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat is the reason behind the removal of the present Chief Secretary by making retired Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh his advisor. Om Prakash had been considered as an exclusive associate of former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat.
Sandhu is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Uttarakhand cadre. He took over as NHAI Chainman in October 2019. Prior to joining NHAI, Sandhu was serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Now Education Ministry). He has done his MBBS from Government Medical College, Amritsar and Master's Degree in History from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and he is also a law graduate.
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