Girish Chandra Murmu to be first L-G of Jammu and Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik moved to Goa; Radha Krishna Mathur to head Ladakh

IAS officer Girish Chandra Murmu has been appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir while Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik has been moved to Goa, a Rashtrapati Bhawan statement said on Friday. Radha Krishna Mathur has also been appointed as its Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Malik’s transfer to Goa as the new governor comes as a surprise, especially since he was the front-runner for the post of Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The appointments were made by President Ram Nath Kovind.

A 1985-batch IAS officer, Murmu currently holds the post of Expenditure Secretary in the finance ministry. Murmu had served as principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat and is considered close  to the prime minister.

The UT status of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will come to effect on 31 October. The Parliament had in passed a resolution revoking the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

In another order, former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief and Union government-appointed interlocutor to Jammu and Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, has been moved to Lakshadweep as the administrator, as per an order issued by the Union Home Ministry.

BJP Kerala unit president PS Sreedharan Pillai has been appointed as the new governor of Mizoram, the Rashtrapati Bhawan statement added.

Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi has been holding the additional charge of Mizoram.

Malik will take over charge in Goa where Mridula Sinha is serving.

With inputs from PTI