IAS Srivastava’s office gutted in fire, raises suspicion

Jaipur: The office chamber of the Director General on the third floor of the building of Panchayati Raj Institute on JLN Marg, was burnt down on Sunday and the nearby meeting hall and rest room were destroyed. It is reported that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit.

Presently, senior IAS officer Ravi Shankar Srivastava is the Director General of the Institute. He has been sitting in this luxurious office for the last 9 months since November 2021. At present, the crisis has arisen that where will Srivastava sit now? There is no other room available in the building for the Director General. This is probably the first incident of its kind in the memory of administrative experts, wherein, the room of a senior IAS has been burnt and his seating position has also been lost in the mishap. Srivastava is due to retire in September 2022. By then, it is difficult to get the burnt office chamber ready again. In such a situation, for two months, Srivastava will have to temporarily sit here and there. It is pertinent to remind here that in fact, two months ago, in May 2022, Srivastava was transferred from Panchayati Raj Institute by the government, but after getting a stay from CAT, he returned to the same chamber within 24 hours. But see the interesting coincidence that now the fire has evicted him from sitting here.

According to sources, many department officials were unhappy with Srivastava’s return to this chamber within 24 hours. Therefore, the incident of burning down of his office in a short circuit on Sunday is being viewed with suspicion.