[ Taba Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, Jun 25: In a surprising move, the state government has appointed former chief secretary (CS) Harikrishna Paliwal as an advisor to the government, in the rank of a cabinet minister.
As per an order issued on 24 June, Paliwal has been appointed for a period of two years, and will be stationed at New Delhi. He will advise the state government on various major socioeconomic and infrastructure development issues.
“He shall also review and follow up on the progress of these projects, and shall be an interface between the central and the state governments. His pay and allowances and other terms and conditions not specified herein shall be governed in accordance with the rules/guidelines prescribed in this regard,” the order read.
Earlier, Paliwal was an advisor to Rajnath Singh, when the latter was the union home minister. Paliwal was reportedly close to Singh. However, after becoming the defence minister, Singh did not renew Paliwal’s service. It is believed that the service of the former CS could not be renewed as Singh is no longer a member of the cabinet committee on appointments,.
At present, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union Home Minister Amit Shah are the two members in the appointments committee.
The move to appoint Paliwal as advisor comes just days after the state government announced to discontinue the services of chairmen and vice chairmen of various government boards, corporations and councils.
Paliwal was the CS of Arunachal Pradesh from 2013 to 2014.
