By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 10 Apr: The Uttarakhand Agriculture Department has finally received a permanent Director after a long period of uncertainty. Senior officer from the agriculture department, Dinesh Kumar has been appointed following his official promotion to the post.
It may be recalled that Dinesh Kumar’s appointment had effectively been decided soon after the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting held in January, but the formal order has now been issued after completion of all administrative procedures. In between the department was under charge of ad hoc officers. The appointment order has been issued to Dinesh Kumar after formal approval in this regard of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
For quite some time, the absence of a permanent Director in the department had been a subject of discussion and concern. The issue was also raised during the Assembly session when questions related to agriculture were being addressed. The inability of the department to provide clear responses on certain matters and the lack of a regular Director had drawn strong criticism from the Opposition as well as public representatives. In the wake of this, efforts were expedited at both the government and departmental levels to ensure a regular appointment to the post.
According to the sources, being the senior-most officer in the department, Dinesh Kumar’s name had already emerged as the most suitable candidate for the position. In this context, a meeting of the Departmental Promotion Committee was held on 5 January under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, wherein consensus was reached on his promotion and a proposal to appoint him as Director was approved.
Following the completion of the DPC process, the proposal was forwarded at the government level for further action. After fulfilling the necessary administrative formalities, it was placed before Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for approval. With the CM granting his consent, the Agriculture Department has now issued the formal order, providing Dinesh Kumar with regular promotion to the post of Director.
As per the order issued, Dinesh Kumar has been appointed Director of the Agriculture Department against a vacant post in Pay Level-15. With the issuance of his appointment order, the department has finally filled this crucial position on a regular basis, and it is expected that this will bring greater stability to its functioning.
Since the formation of the State, a handful of officers have served as Director of the Agriculture Department on a regular basis, and Dinesh Kumar will be the seventh to hold the position. Prior to him, six officers had discharged responsibilities in either a regular or officiating capacity. In recent years, Gauri Shankar had served the longest tenure of nearly a decade as Director, playing a key role in advancing departmental schemes. He was succeeded by KC Pathak, who served in the position for around one and a half years until June 2025. Madan Lal was one officer who probably served for the longest period as Director of Agriculture. In contrast, most Directors of Horticulture have served either on deputation from other states or on officiating basis. Even bureaucrats have served as directors, horticulture in Uttarakhand for substantial periods. Both these posts have often been in news for wrong reasons and controversies rather than achievements or for excellence.
After the tenure of KC Pathak, the post could not be filled on a regular basis, leading to senior officer Parma Ram being given the charge as officiating Director. While Parma Ram was managing the departmental responsibilities in this capacity, the position fell completely vacant following his retirement on 25 November, 2025. Thereafter, the process to appoint a permanent Director had been underway at both departmental and government levels.
Despite the DPC having been conducted earlier, the issuance of the formal order was delayed due to procedural and administrative requirements.
