The administrative head of a state government is a senior Indian Administrative Service officer with the title of chief secretary, who reports to the chief minister.
After her election in May 2007, Mayawati created the post of state cabinet secretary and nominated former helicopter pilot Shashank Shekhar Singh to the job. Chief Secretary Atul Kumar Gupta was instructed to report to Singh.
Later, following a Public Interest Litigation, the Lucknow high court ruled in favour of the chief secretary's position and said an IAS officer would not report to a non-IAS officer.
If sources in Lucknow are to be believed, Gupta does not officially report to Singh, but unofficially that impression may not hold. After all, the cabinet secretary is one of Mayawati's closest aides.
Singh is often described as the state's de facto chief minister and reportedly has a role in major government decisions.
He is a wellknown face in Lucknow's public life, harking back to the days when he saved then chief minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh's life after the helicopter they were travelling in nearly crashed.
During the tenure of another Congress chief minister Veer Bahadur Singh -- who The Illustrated Weekly of India called 'The Man With 64 Portfolios' -- Singh brokered a peace deal with adamant Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Mahendra Singh Tikait. He was rewarded with the title, Principal Secretary (Civil Aviation).
He established a fine relationship with Mayawati when she became chief minister for the first time in 1994. He also enjoyed good ties with Mayawati's bitter enemy Mulayam Singh Yadav, but they fell out after Yadav unsuccessfully tried to get Singh to turn against Mayawati in the Taj Corridor case.
Also see: Give Madame Mayawati credit | India Votes 2009
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