Stung by ex-CM’s remarks, Uttarakhand IAS body fires back: ‘Expect respectful behaviour’

Speaking in the Parliament on Thursday, Rawat, the MP from Haridwar and former Uttarakhand CM, said he wanted to flag a “concerning issue” from his home state. “In Uttarakhand’s Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Nainital, illegal mining is getting rampant at night,” he said.

The same evening, caught off guard, the state government released a video of the mining secretary, Brijesh Sant, denying the “allegations”.

“The statement that illegal mining is increasing in the state is baseless and false. This is substantiated by data on mining because there has been an increase in revenue,” he said.

On Sunday, the Uttarakhand IAS Association convened a meeting in the wake of Rawat’s latest remark made a day earlier. In a statement, it said, “Like ordinary citizens, members of the Association naturally and inherently have the right to self-respect and dignity. Individuals, office bearers, institutions, and organisations should refrain from making statements or gestures that harm the self-respect of the Association’s members and their families or injure their pride. In such circumstances, members of the Association may experience a decline in morale, and a discouraging environment may adversely affect their efficiency, work capacity, and service delivery.”

The association said that as public servants, members of the Association implement the policies of elected governments within the constitutional framework. “The stability and continuity of governance, along with adherence to the principles of neutrality and anonymity, are fundamental traits of the administrative machinery… the Association expects respectful behavior from all sections of society to uphold the dignity and right to self-respect of the Association and its members,” it said. They also decided to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary.