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Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Manipur's new chief secretary assumes charge
Manipur Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel on Monday assumed charge at the secretariat here, officials said. Goel took charge from outgoing CS Prashant Kumar Singh at a brief function held at the Old Secretariat building, they said. 'The Manipur government marked a transition in administrative leadership with the official handover of charge from outgoing Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh to newly appointed CS Puneet Kumar Goel,' an official statement said. Senior officials and department heads expressed their gratitude to Singh for his dedicated service and visionary leadership during his tenure. 'Warm wishes were also extended to Goel as he assumed charge,' the statement said. Goel, the 1991 batch AGMUT cadre officer, arrived in Imphal on Sunday and was received by officials led by Commissioner (home) Ashok Kumar. He was appointed as the Manipur chief secretary by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on July 16. The appointment comes at a time when the northeastern state has been witnessing ethnic violence for more than two years. More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023. The Centre had on February 13 imposed the President's rule in Manipur after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned. The state assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.
Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Centre names Puneet Kumar Goel as chief secretary of Manipur
In what insiders termed a significant bureaucratic move, the Centre has posted 1991-batch AGMUT, or central cadre, IAS officer Puneet Kumar Goel as the chief secretary of Manipur. BJP sources said the move, which is said to be part of an ongoing and significant gubernatorial and bureaucratic overhaul, was aligned with 'possible legislative business related to the state of Manipur' and likely to entail an extension of the ongoing President's Rule there during the upcoming Monsoon Session. Manipur is under President's Rule following ethnic Meitei-Kuki clashes in May 2023 which were followed by N Biren Singh's resignation as chief minister in February 2025. A career bureaucrat who served in various capacities across significant bodies such as the Delhi Jal Board, the Delhi transport department, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the power and SC/ST/OBC sectors at the Centre, and as chief secretary of Goa, Goel was moved to the Manipur state cadre following approval from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-chaired Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. Goel was posted as secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, at the end of his tenure as Goa chief secretary after serving in the post between February 2022 and October 2024. He will serve under Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the former home secretary of India, who remained in that post for five years from 2019 till his appointment in the formerly BJP-ruled state in December last year. Towards the end of his tenure as Goa chief secretary, Goel had fielded, and denied in an affidavit to the Bombay High Court allegations of abusing his position in changing the zone of a property he eventually bought. He had told the court that the file in question was among 'more than 700' signed by him in March 2024. In late May, a group of 10 NDA MLAs had called on Governor Bhalla to press for the formation of 'a popular government' in the state, claiming the support of 44 legislators, including seven from the BJP and three from its state ally, the National People's Party (NPP), and an Independent.
