An IAS officer resigns in Uttar Pradesh, prompts people to ask why

“Days like today make all the struggle worth it. Seeing lives changed so dramatically with such a basic necessity makes me believe that we can accomplish great things when we work together. Together, we can make a difference and together, we will!” wrote Divya Mittal on X three years ago on 30 August 2023. Three years later on 30 August 2026 the IAS officer again took to X to announce that she had resigned from the elite All India Service after 13 years.

Mittal had drawn national attention for bringing piped water to a remote hilly village in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh when she was posted there as District Magistrate. The village was dependent on tankers for water and ancestors of the residents had not seen piped water in their lifetime reach the village on an elevation. When she visited the village for the first time as DM, Mittal recalled, she was unable to drink water from her water bottle. Nine months later, her team did what was deemed to be impossible and tap-water reached Lahuria Dah village for the first time. The date was 30 August 2023.

Divya Mittal was awarded the Ashok Bambawale Award at LBSNAA, Mussoorie, for outstanding performance during the two-year IAS training programme. She grew up in “humble surroundings”, she posted and had initially dreamt of a successful life. After her studies, she got a job as an exotic derivative trader in London. But being away from India left her feeling that “something was incomplete”. “My education, my confidence, the strength to walk tall anywhere in the world — all of it was a debt owed to this soil. That debt had to be repaid,” she wrote. She returned to India and became an IAS officer.

The announcement of her resignation has evoked mixed reactions. Many of her admirers, including some employees who had served under her, recalled her tenures in the districts of Uttar Pradesh. She was an exemplary officer, they recalled, honest and close to the people. Indeed, the IIT, Delhi and IIM, Bangalore alumna had resigned her job as a derivatives trader in London to return home and join the IAS. In her own words, she wanted to give back to society what society had bestowed upon her. On Sunday, 30 August 2026 Divya Mittal admitted that she was foolish to have harboured the notion that she could give back something. Instead, she received much more from the people.

So, what made her quit? Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and many of her admirers believe she was harassed and hounded for her dedicated work and honesty. They point out her relatively short tenures as District Magistrates in several districts like Deoria, Mirzapur and Sant Kabir Nagar and her abrupt transfers. In May this year, she was appointed Special Secretary, Revenue Department. It was recalled how she was asked to explain why no elected representative, minister, MP or MLA, was invited when water finally reached the Lahuria Dah village for the first time in a hundred years. It was pointed out how she was kept waiting for her next posting for six months in a signal that powers that be were not happy with her.

The detractors believe she quit to join politics and contest elections. If she wins, they uncharitably took a swipe, she could end up as a minister; but if she lost she could crawl back into service. Mittal herself is yet to disclose what prompted her to take the step and what her plans are. But her resignation has triggered a public debate on why a seemingly successful and popular officer like her was forced to quit the service of the government.

30 August 2023 was the most satisfying day of her life, wrote the officer.

“Even after 75 years of Independence, people of Lahuria Deh village, Mirzapur did not have access to water! Situated on a hilltop on the border of UP-MP, the topography made any attempts to get water there 'impossible'. When I went there for the first time, I did not have the heart to drink water from my water bottle in front of the villagers. Aadhaar cards were used to issue water through tankers. People did not marry their daughters to this village.

“But yesterday, that changed. After dedicated work of 9 months, our team beat the challenges of geography, finances and other logistics achieving what people said was impossible. Today through the 'Har Ghar Jal' scheme piped connections to supply clean, safe water directly to every home in the village was started. As the tap was turned on for the first time today, tears of joy streamed down almost every face we saw. The village is celebrating and rejoicing. We are celebrating and rejoicing. Our hard work paid off. Our efforts made a difference. We brought life and health to hundreds of families today,” she posted on X.

Three years later the 2013-batch 42-years-old IAS officer posted on Sunday, 30 August 2026, “Today, I have voluntarily stepped away from an unforgettable 13-year journey by resigning from the IAS”.