DM Gaurav Kumar Swiftly Defused the Karnaprayag Crisis..
IAS Gaurav Kumar is currently serving as the District Magistrate of Chamoli district in Uttarakhand. He assumed office on October 12, 2025. Prior to this, he served as the Block Development Officer and Additional Secretary of August Muni. He is known for his ground-level understanding, result-oriented work style, and sensitive administrative approach. He was born on December 3, 1985 in Uttar Pradesh. He holds a BSc and MSc in Physics from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. He also completed a Master of Arts in Organizational Management from Jawaharlal Nehru University between 2017 and 2019. After clearing the UPSC Civil Services exam, he worked for over 10 years as a Health Physicist at the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited in Rawatbhata before joining the Uttarakhand Kadar 2017 batch. Acclaimed Career and Key Positions Experienced in revenue, judicial, and regulatory functions early in his career. He received considerable local acclaim for his outstanding development work at the grassroots level. Before becoming the District Magistrate of Chamoli, he served as Additional Secretary in various state-level policy-making departments. Officially assumed the position of District Magistrate of Chamoli on October 12, 2025. Key Tasks In June 2026, when tensions arose between two groups over a parking dispute in Karanprayag, he immediately invoked Section 163 of the CrPC before the situation escalated. He also took strict measures to prevent any religious or communal comments on social media and restored harmony in the area by convening a peace committee. He is also known for directly inspecting work in the field. In January 2026, he conducted a foot and field inspection of the beautiful Niti Valley along the China border, where he directly interacted with local villagers amid snowfall and difficult conditions, addressing their problems on the spot. He has strengthened infrastructure in the hilly and strategically important district of Chamoli and has established direct coordination with local displaced families and officials to resolve pending issues related to infrastructure, roads, and power transmission projects like Pitkul in the district. Chamoli district is highly vulnerable to disasters and is home to the famous Badrinath Dham and Hemkund Sahib. During the pilgrimage season, he personally monitors the safety of pilgrims, traffic management, and the disaster control room. Awards and Honors Recognized for his outstanding work in implementing rural development schemes and ensuring effective groundwork while serving as Block Development Officer in August Muni Block, Rudraprayag district. Special recognition from the public for personally touring the Niti Valley on foot in sub-freezing temperatures to address local residents’ problems on the spot.
Zero-Tolerance Approach to Dilapidated Schools – Sabeen Bansal
Sabeen Bansal, a popular IAS officer of the 2009 batch of the Uttarakhand cadre, is known for his direct engagement with the public, his tough decisions, and his exceptional work ethic. He currently serves as Secretary, Excise Department, and Secretary, Planning, in the Uttarakhand government. He was born on August 23, 1984, in the state of Haryana. He received his early education from DAV Public College, Ambala, Haryana. He completed his mechanical engineering from NIT Kurukshetra University and his master’s degree in Risk and Resilience from the world-renowned University College London, London, UK. He passed the Civil Services Examination without any interruption in 2008, securing an All India Rank of 34.He also completed his IAS foundation and administrative training from the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. He has served as the District Magistrate of Almora, Nainital, and most recently, Dehradun in Uttarakhand, and has also held important positions as Additional Secretary in various state government departments. He has also been the project director of the disaster management project run in Uttarakhand with the cooperation of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Key Tasks During his tenure in Dehradun, he prioritized the safety of children and ordered the demolition and renovation of 79 dilapidated government school buildings. He also upgraded primary schools with modern furniture, whiteboards, digital screens, and mandatory outdoor activities. He also launched a special initiative to provide financial assistance of up to ₹100,000 to promising female students struggling with difficult circumstances. To strengthen women’s safety, he established dedicated pick-up police squads in urban areas and launched a large-scale rescue and rehabilitation campaign to rescue children from beggary and reconnect them with mainstream education. To address the parking problem in a city like Dehradun, he implemented a modern mechanical parking system and allocated a special budget for the installation of charging stations in the city’s main centers to promote environmentally friendly electric vehicles. Upon seeing the systemic changes in the monitoring of cleanliness and garbage collection in the Municipal Corporation, he changed the working system that had been in place for 21 years and redefined its responsibility and gave a strict 45-day ultimatum to private companies for improvement. In Nainital, he himself visited the liquor shop as a common customer and suspended and punished the sellers who were over-charging on the spot. While serving as Additional Secretary at the state level in Disaster Management, he successfully led a major disaster rehabilitation and risk reduction project funded by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank in Uttarakhand. Honors and Awards