Homecoming for IAS officer Atal Dulloo as he takes over as J&K Chief Secretary

Before proceeding on central deputation, Dulloo was serving as Financial Commissioner, Agriculture Production Department in J&K.

He had served the Centre on deputation earlier too, as Joint Secretary in the Department of Rural Development, for five years.

Dulloo is the first person from Jammu and Kashmir to occupy the top slot in the UT’s bureaucracy since 2017. B R Sharma, who hailed from Kathua district, had served the state from 2015-17.

A seasoned bureaucrat known for his cordial style of functioning, he has held various important positions in Jammu and Kashmir. He also has extensive working experience in various districts, including as a sub-divisional magistrate in Ladakh and Deputy Commissioner of at least four districts.

During the pandemic, he played a key role in expansion of medical infrastructure.

Former Jammu & Kashmir CM and PDP supremo Mehbooba Mufti described the appointment “a welcome move”.

“After a long time a J&K resident has been put in a position of power to serve his people when they find themselves in utter despair and dispossessed. Hope it gives way to a sense of empathy and redressal for the masses,” she wrote on X.

Given that he is a son of the soil, his appointment could help bridge the gap between bureaucrats and the local public, which had widened since the abrogation of Article 370. The government’s decisions on matters of property tax, smart meters and toll plazas have also invited public ire.

The new Chief Secretary, with his local connect, will be expected to fill this gap in the UT, where the term of urban local bodies has come to an end without any decision on fresh elections. The term of panchayats is also ending early next year and elections to these rural local bodies are likely to be delayed.