The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel, fondly remembered late IAS officer Guruprasad Mohapatra as he launched the book ‘Guru Mantra Musings of a Bureaucrat’ penned by the officer, who died due to Covid in June 2021.
According to the CM, Mohapatra was a “problem-solver, silent and result-oriented” bureaucrat. He stated, “When I started my political career in 1995 as the standing chairman of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, IP Gautam was the municipal commissioner. He was succeeded by Mohapatra. I have worked with both. They had similar abilities to implement policies and deliver schemes and take it to the masses.”
CM Patel recalled the efforts of the 1986 batch IAS officer for Covid management at the height of the pandemic outbreak. Anjali Mohapatra, the late bureaucrat’s wife, who compiled the book, and Sudhir Mankad, the head of GIFT City, were present at the event. Mr. Patel stated, “It is sad for all of us that he could not recover from Covid.”
The Chief Minister mentioned Mohapatra’s numerous contributions during his postings in Gujarat and then in Delhi, saying that few IAS officers had the willingness to reverse decisions. “Amending a decision that has already been taken was one of the good traits in him,” Patel said, adding that the late IAS officer had the “strength” to alter decisions for the greater good.
