The Chief Secretary of Mizoram is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the State of Mizoram in India. The Chief Secretary is the ex-officio head of the state Civil Services Board, the State Secretariat, the state cadre Indian Administrative Service and all civil services under the rules of business of the state government. The Chief Secretary acts as an ex-officio secretary to the state cabinet, therefore called "Secretary to the Cabinet". The Chief Secretary acts as the principal advisor to the chief minister on all matters of state administration.
The Chief Secretary is chosen by the state's Chief Minister. State Chief Secretaries are IAS officers generally equivalent in rank to a Secretary to Government of India and are placed 23rd on Indian Order of Precedence.
The present area of Mizoram was annexed by the British Empire after the Chin-Lushai Expedition of 1889âÂÂ90. The North Lushai hills were administered by a political officer stationed at Fort Aijal under the Assam Government. The South Lushai Hills were under the administration of a political officer stationed at Fort Treager. This political officer reported to the commissioner of Chittagong who was under the Bengal Government.
In 1898, the two districts were merged into the Lushai Hills District which was administered by a Superintendent. It was regarded as an Excluded Area, beyond the Inner Line, which meant that the laws and regulations of the province did not apply, and the people from the plains could not access it without a permit. Even as self-government was gradually implemented in British India through Government of India Act 1919 & 1935, the district was placed outside the purview of these acts. The Superintendent remained the sole authority of the District.
After independence, the district became an autonomous district under the Sixth Schedule. After the Mizo Uprising, the Mizo District became the Union Territory of Mizoram in 1972. Hence, R.M. Aggarwal was appointed as the first Chief Secretary of Mizoram.
During the Mizoram Insurgency in 1975, following the assassination of Inspector General of Police G.S. Arya along with two other senior police officers by MNF insurgents, the centre enforced a countermeasure policy wherein an army officer, Brig. G.S. Randhawa was appointed as Inspector General of Police. Additionally, the incumbent Chief Secretary, R.M. Aggarwal, was replaced with the serving Inspector General of Jammu and Kashmir Police, Surendra Nath. This event marked the first and only instance wherein an Indian Police Service officer was appointed to the post of Chief SecretaryÃÂ inÃÂ India.
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