Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Divya Mittal has resigned from service after 13 years owing to an alleged “punishment posting” after not a local ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of legislative assembly (MLA) took offence to not being invited for the inauguration of a drinking water project.
According to reports, Mittal was transferred from Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur district within two days of the inauguration while local goons also later destroyed the drinking water source.
Mittal announced her resignation on August 30, describing her 13 years in the civil service as an “unforgettable journey”. She did not publicly give a specific reason for leaving the IAS or link her resignation to the incident involving the BJP lawmaker.
She served as district magistrate of Mirzapur, where she worked on bringing piped drinking water to Lahuria Dah village. The village has a population of around 1,200 residents and depends on a spring that often dries up during summer, forcing residents to rely on water tankers.
Reports also claimed that the incident left her without a proper posting for months.
It may be noted that Mittal’s extensive experience has also left the internet rallying in her support. Before joining the civil service, she worked in London as an exotic derivatives trader after studying engineering at IIT Delhi and completing an MBA from IIM Bangalore.
She returned to India, prepared for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination and secured All India Rank 68 before joining the IAS in 2013.
During her career, Mittal held several administrative positions across Uttar Pradesh and also worked as an assistant secretary at National Institute for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. During her training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, she received the Ashok Bambawale Award for outstanding performance.
Her work in Mirzapur became one of the notable parts of her administrative career.
Mittal also worked on removing encroachments from government land during her tenure in Deoria. A 2025 report credited her administration with reclaiming more than 900 instances of illegally occupied government land.
In her farewell post, Mittal reflected on her experiences in public service, writing about honesty, identity and the difference an officer can make in people’s lives. She wrote that government positions and authority are temporary while the difference made in people’s lives lasts longer.
