Exclusive: Why Delhi Chose Parachute Landing In J&K
Atal Dulloo, the sitting Chief Secretary, was expected to sail into a one-year extension before his October 31 retirement the safe, predictable, least disruptive choice. Instead, the Centre reached past him and past several more senior contenders to hand-pick Yadav, a 1995-batch AGMUT-cadre officer currently running the Delhi Jal Board. He becomes the first AGMUT officer ever to head J&K's bureaucracy.
The Balance of Power
Dulloo's extension was reportedly discussed and shelved because the Centre concluded the moment demanded a different kind of administrator altogether. Top sources add that seniority was bypassed on purpose. Top sources add that the move was most likely taken to ensure what they describe as a “balance of power” one that, in their words, is increasingly getting disturbed due to interventionist tendencies and interference in J&K's administration.
Top sources add that given the growing sensitivities around this balance of power, the Centre deliberately chose a "hard hand" over a "timed soft hand" betting that only a firmer administrative presence could moderate the disturbance and, just as importantly, inspire the Centre's own confidence, even at the cost of breaking seniority and cadre hierarchy altogether.
The Centre is unwilling to let the balance-of-power equation in J&K tip any further toward interventionist pressures and disrupt the Center's overwatch on sensitive and crucial matters in J&K. A top source said choosing a "hard hand" over a "soft hand" shows exactly how closely Delhi is watching this balance.
