Key official in Delhi govt decides to quit

Shakti Sinha,who differed with govt on mediating power tariff hike,seeks VRS

A key official in the Delhi government,Shakti Sinha,has sought voluntary retirement from service (VRS) to focus instead on work outside the government. A 1979-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre,Sinha is currently posted as principal secretary (finance) and holds additional charge as principal secretary,power.

On Sunday,Sinha confirmed that he had decided to leave. I have been in the service for 34 years and now I want to work outside the government, he said.

Sinha denied that his decision to quit had anything to do with the Sheila Dikshit government. I have to clarify that there has been no misunderstanding or differences with the government. I have decided to seek VRS only to focus my energies on something else, Sinha said.

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Among the senior-most IAS officers in the Delhi government,Sinha had served as joint secretary to former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and even worked with the UN mission in Afghanistan and the World Bank. Incidentally,Sinha and Delhi Chief Secretary D M Spolia are from the 1979 AGMUT batch.

Sources stated that Sinha was at variance with the Delhi government in recent months over certain policy decisions. A senior official on condition of anonymity said that Sinha had recommended a tougher stance against Delhis private power distribution companies,which the government had strenuously vetoed.

Also,after power tariffs were hiked last month,the Delhi government had announced subsidy to negate its effect on voters in an election year,which Sinha reportedly was against.

Sources in the government also stated that Sinha opposed the monorail project in East Delhi.

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