Rajasthan: Senior IAS Officer Shikhar Agrawal Relieved of Duties, Awaits New Posting
The Industries Department Additional Chief Secretary has been placed on Awaiting Posting Orders following an administrative directive, days after a media report alleged that his family purchased 40 villas over two and a half years.
JAIPUR, Oct 29: The Rajasthan government has relieved senior IAS officer Shikhar Agrawal of his official responsibilities and placed him on Awaiting Posting Orders (APO), citing administrative reasons.
An order issued by the Department of Personnel late Wednesday night directed the officer to relinquish his existing assignments. The move followed a media report alleging that Agrawal and his family members, including his wife, IPS officer Prashakha Mathur, had purchased 40 villas from a single company over the past two-and-a-half years.
The allegations were reported by the media, while the government order cited administrative reasons for the decision. No official link between the reported property purchases and the administrative action was established in the information available.
Agrawal was serving as Additional Chief Secretary of the Industries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department, a key position responsible for overseeing industrial development and investment-related initiatives in the state.
In addition to his departmental duties, he held several important assignments connected with Rajasthan’s industrial infrastructure and investment promotion.
These included chairmanship of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Special Area Development Authority, the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) and the Bureau of Investment Promotion, Rajasthan.
The latest order relieved him of all these responsibilities, leaving him awaiting fresh posting instructions from the state government.
The development comes amid attention surrounding the media report on the alleged property transactions. However, the government has not cited the report as the reason for its decision in the order, which referred only to administrative considerations.
Further details regarding Agrawal’s next assignment or any additional action by the state government were not immediately available.
