Durga Shankar Mishra takes charge as Uttar Pradesh chief secretary

Durga Shankar Mishra, who was due to retire on December 31, has been given this important responsibility ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Lucknow: Newly-appointed Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh Durga Shankar Mishra assumed charge here on Thursday and said he would work diligently to take various schemes of the government to people.

Mishra, a 1984-batch IAS officer who was due to retire on December 31, was given the important responsibility ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Mishra, who was the Union housing and urban affairs secretary, was repatriated to his parent cadre Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday as the Yogi Adityanath government proposed to appoint him as the new chief secretary, barely two days before his retirement.

He took over from Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, a 1985-batch IAS officer who is due to retire in February 2023. Mishra has been given a one-year extension in service.

Talking to reporters after assuming office, Mishra said he would work diligently to take various schemes of the government to people.

"This responsibility is a chance to serve all the people of my state," he said.

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Adityanath for giving him the responsibility, Mishra said he has witnessed the unprecedented change that has taken place in the country in the last seven years.

He said in 2017, when Adityanath took over as the chief minister, Uttar Pradesh was lagging behind in the work related to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs but the situation has improved a lot now.