Anil Baijal Anil Baijal

The suspense over appointment of the new Lt Governor of Delhi has come to an end with former Home Secretary, Anil Baijal’s name being proposed for now to replace Najeeb Jung. In a surprise move, Jung had last week submitted his resignation to the Centre, ending a nearly three-and-half-year-long eventful tenure, mostly marked by bitter confrontation with AAP government. Jung’s resignation was on Wednesday accepted by President Pranab Mukherjee. Baijal’s appointment papers have been sent to Mukherjee.

A 1969 batch IAS officer, Baijal had served as Union Home Secretary under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government besides holding key positions in other ministries. He was, however, removed from the post when the UPA government assumed power in May, 2004.

70-year-old Baijal had retired from service in 2006 as Secretary, Urban Development Ministry. He is a former vice chairman of Delhi Development Authority. He was actively associated with the designing and roll-out of Rs 60,000 crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched by the Manmohan Singh government.

Baijal was also on the executive council of the think-tank Vivekananda International Foundation, several of whose former members have been appointed to senior positions by the Modi government including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Earlier there were reports that Baijal will replace NN Vohra as the governor of Jammu and Kashmir. However, after the unrest in the state following the killing of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, the Centre decided against changing the Governor in J&K.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Delhi News, download Indian Express App.

© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd