Mr. Dhaval Pandya, currently serving as Additional Collector of Kutch and Deputy Controller of Civil Defence (Kutch), has been promoted to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) as per a notification issued on July 3 by the Department of Personnel and Training under the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
An officer of the Gujarat state civil services since August 2005, Mr. Pandya began his administrative career in 2008 as the Rajkot Rural Mamlatdar. He holds a B.Tech degree and has previously held key urban administrative roles, including as Deputy Municipal Commissioner in the Surat and Vadodara Municipal Corporations. He is also known for his strategic role in civil defence preparedness in Kutch just prior to Operation Sindoor and the subsequent retaliatory attacks from Pakistan, particularly for initiating civil defence drills and launching Gujarat’s first Braille civil defence module for differently abled persons.
Meanwhile, BJP media convener for Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, Mr. Hitesh Patel, popularly known as ‘Pochi’, has been appointed as a member of both the Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) and the Telecom Advisory Committee (TAC). Mr. Patel has been nominated to the ZRUCC under the Special Interest category. Following the announcement, he expressed his gratitude to the BJP’s state and central leadership and Union Railway Minister Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw for the appointments.
