Punjab CM blue eyed officer Karan Avtar Singh adjusted; made chairman
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in/ Chandigarh
Blue eyed boy of Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Karan Avtar Singh, a 1984-batch senior most IAS officer of Punjab, who was shunted out of the top bureaucratic position just two months before his superannuation, as he is due to retire on August 31, has been made the first chairman of the Punjab Water Regulatory Authority set up by the state government.
Karan Avtar Singh known as a low-profile bureaucrat with flawless conversational etiquette and calm nature and his unceremonial exit as state chief secretary surprised all. He paid the price for a tiff with Finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal and technical education minister Charanjit Singh Channi, over state excise policy.
As per the orders issued by Sarvjit Singh, Pincipal secretary, department of Water Resources, Punjab Karan Avtar Singh has been appointed as Chairman and Surinder Singh Kukal as members of the Punjab Water Regulatory Authority set up by the state government.
Punjab CM blue eyed officer Karan Avtar Singh adjusted; made chairman.Earlier, former chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh had been posted as special chief secretary, governance reforms and public grievances, according to the government order.
In December last year Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh led Cabinet approved the creation of the Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority in a bid to check the depletion of groundwater in the State. It will be empowered to issue directions on water extraction but cannot impose any restrictions or tariff on extraction of water for drinking, domestic and agriculture purposes, as per the sources.
June,30,2020
