Mitra unlikely to rejoin as Chandigarh MC commissioner

A senior official from the Chandigarh administration stated, “We have written to the central government, informing them that Mitra was relieved from the post of Municipal Corporation commissioner on August 22. Last week, she assumed her new role as secretary, cooperation, Punjab, and managing director of Punjab Cooperative Bank

Just four days after the central government extended the tenure of IAS officer Anindita Mitra as the commissioner of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation for three months, it appears increasingly unlikely that she will rejoin the post as the UT administration has formally requested the central government to appoint a new commissioner from a fresh panel of officers.

Just four days after the central government extended the tenure of IAS officer Anindita Mitra as the commissioner of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation for three months, it appears increasingly unlikely that she will rejoin the post as the UT administration has formally requested the central government to appoint a new commissioner from a fresh panel of officers. (Representational image)

A senior official from the UT administration stated, “We have written to the central government, informing them that Mitra was relieved from the post of Municipal Corporation commissioner on August 22. Last week, she assumed her new role as secretary, cooperation, Punjab, and managing director of Punjab Cooperative Bank. The order extending her tenure arrived on September 20, but it came after she had already joined her new posting. The extension should have been confirmed before she was relieved or before she could join the new posting.”

The UT official emphasised that it is now improbable that Mitra will return, given that a new panel of IAS officers has been proposed. “We have requested the Centre to appoint a new commissioner from the fresh list of officers,” the official added.

Anindita Mitra, a 2007-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, had initially assumed the role of Municipal Corporation commissioner on August 23, 2021. Her three-year tenure ended on August 22, 2024. While the UT Administration had sought an extension of her tenure, they received no formal communication before her relief from the post.

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Meanwhile, a panel of three IAS officers, Amit Kumar, Ramvir, and Girish Dayalan, has been forwarded to the Union government for approval to appoint a successor to Mitra. The panel had been sent prior to the central government’s decision to extend Mitra’s tenure.

UT’s personnel department secretary Ajay Chagti was unavailable for comment.