Senior bureaucrats including CAG Rajiv Mehrishi empty toilet pit in Pune district

Mehrishi (3rd from left; wearing saffron dress)

THE Comptroller and Auditor General of India and former home and finance secretary Rajiv Mehrishi emptied a toilet pit from a twin pit toilet in rural Maharashtra on Thursday morning. He was joined by secretary in the ministry of drinking water and sanitation Parameswaran Iyer who had also done that earlier. This time, senior sanitation officers including additional chief secretaries of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, followed suit to…

Who’s IAS Rajeshwari B, and why she is praised by secretary Parameswaran Iyer?

Rajeshwari with Iyer

SECRETARY of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation Parameswaran Iyer recently praised a young collector — Rajeshwari B of Jharkhand cadre in Twitter, saying that it’s inspirational to hear “champion collectors” like Rajeshwari. The praise was showered on her for her role in making Ramgarh district the first open defecation free (ODF) district in Jharkhand. Iyer, a 1981 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS who took voluntary retirement before joining the government again on a contract basis, handles the Swachh Bharat Mission, mainly in rural areas. But who’s Rajeshwari B?…

Mann ki Baat: PM praises IAS officer for cleaning a toilet pit himself

A cover of a book, Mann ki Baat

PRIME MINISTER in ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme broadcast on Sunday praised drinking water and sanitation secretary and IAS officer Parameswaran Iyer for cleaning a toilet pit which PM said, was noticed by the entire country. “…when people see an IAS officer cleaning a toilet pit himself, the fact is naturally noticed by the country”, PM said without however naming the IAS officer. Iyre, who took voluntary retirement from IAS nine years ago only to rejoin…

When this secretary-ranked officer Parameswaran Iyer gets down to clean a toilet pit at Warangal

ON SATURDAY, Parameswaran Iyer — the Government of India secretary who is in charge of Swachh Bharat Mission — posted a couple of photos in a social media site. The caption says the complete story. “Great to be emptying a toilet pit in Gangadevipalli, Warangal @swachhbharat… It's perfectly safe and clean to empty a twin pit toilet. The @swachhbharat team joins Gangadevipally village today.” The images caught the imagination of many people in social media. The IAS Association quoted one of his Tweets to say: “Amazing. This is true leadership. Secy to GoI getting down to clean a toilet pit. #SwachhBharat #RoleModel.”  Not just that, many in social media sites…

Parameswaran Iyer: How this ex-IAS and new drinking water and sanitation secretary may give a Vietnamese twist to Swachh Bharat Mission

IN THE World Bank, everyone calls this program manager and lead water and sanitation specialist as Param. His full name is Parameswaran Iyer, a 1981 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS who took voluntary retirement about seven years ago. In a rare instance, the Narendra Modi government in an order dated February 3, roped in this IAS-turned sanitation specialist as union secretary in charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, the agency that anchors the Centre’s ambitious programme of Swachh Bharat Mission, or Clean India Mission. Iyer’s appointment will be on a contract basis for…