New Delhi: In a rare move, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has simultaneously removed three members of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav’s personal staff through separate orders, triggering an unusual reshuffle in the Minister’s office.

The action affects the Minister’s Private Secretary and two Additional Private Secretaries, with each order invoking a different administrative provision. While one officer has been repatriated to his parent cadre on “administrative ground”, another has been sent back through “premature repatriation” with extended cooling off, and the appointment of the third has been terminated with immediate effect.

Among those affected is Amar Singh, an Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officer of the 2010 batch, who was serving as Private Secretary to the Minister.

“…Shri Amar Singh, IRS (IT:2010), Private Secretary to the Hon’ble Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, is repatriated to his parent cadre, i.e Department of Revenue, on administrative ground and relieved of his duties with immediate effect,” the ministry’s order stated.

Amar Singh joined Bhupender Yadav’s office in 2021, when the Minister was handling the Labour and Employment portfolio, and continued after Yadav moved to the Environment Ministry. He was elevated from Deputy Secretary to Director rank in 2024. As per a Department of Personnel and Training memorandum issued on June 25, 2024, his tenure as Private Secretary was to continue until September 7, 2026, unless curtailed earlier.

The second order concerns Shailesh Kumar Singh, a Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer serving as Additional Private Secretary to the Minister. It states that he has been “prematurely repatriated” to his parent cadre, the Department of Personnel and Training, with the provision of “extended cooling off”.

“Shri Shailesh Kumar Singh is directed to report to his parent cadre i.e Department of Personnel and Training immediately,” the order said.

The third order relates to Ayush Saran, whose appointment as Additional Private Secretary has been terminated with immediate effect.

“In pursuance of Department of Personnel and Training’s O.M. No 23/1/2024… dated 2nd July, 2026, and with the approval of the competent authority, the appointment of Shri Ayush Saran as Additional Private Secretary to the Hon’ble Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change is terminated with immediate effect. Shri Ayush Saran is relieved of his duties immediately,” the order, signed by Under Secretary Vibhuti Panjiyar, said.

The three decisions, issued together and taking immediate effect, amount to a near-complete overhaul of the Minister’s personal secretariat. While the orders do not specify the reasons beyond the administrative provisions cited, copies have been marked to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet Secretariat and the Department of Personnel and Training, indicating that the changes have been formally communicated across the government.

BI Bureau