Durga Shakti Nagpal Durga Shakti Nagpal

A young IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, who faced ire of the Uttar Pradesh Government after she took on sand mafia and illegal construction, was on Thursday appointed as Officer on Special Duty to Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the name of 29-year-old Nagpal.

According to the order, Nagpal will be OSD in the rank of an under secretary "in relaxation of eligibility condition of minimum years of service" required for the post.

Nagpal, a 2010 batch IAS officer of the state, will have a tenure of three years from the date of assumption of the post.

The order has requested the government of north-Indian state Uttar Pradesh to relieve her immediately to enable her to take up her new assignment.

Nagpal was in news in 2013 after she detained several vehicles and rounded up many people who allegedly were engaged in illegal mining of sand from Ghaziabad area.

In July 2013, she was suspended by the UP government, a move which was believed to have been done at the behest of some politicians hailing from Ghaziabad.

She was, however, reinstated in September 2013 after she along with her husband met state Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

In another order, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet gave an extension on Central deputation for three months to C Chandramouli, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. He has been on this post since January 2009 and his tenure at the Centre was ending on Thursday.