Chiranjiv Singh, a retired IAS officer of Karnataka Cadare, was born in 1945 in Punjab, India. During his
career he held various positions in the central and state governments, some of which are: Principal Secretary,
Finance Dept.; Principal Secretary, Agriculture; Secretary, Culture and Tourism Depts.; Director General,
Administrative Training Institute, Mysore; Divisional Commissioner of Belgaum and Mysore Divisions;
Director, Mines and Geology; Director, Information, Culture, and Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka; Special
Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, Food and Civil Supplies and Rural Development, Govt.
of India; Chairman of Naval and Air Force Standing Establishment Committees in the Ministry of Defence,
Govt. of India; Additional Director General of Tourism, Govt. of India; Chief Executive of the National
Council of Hotel Management and Catering Technology Institutes. He retired in 2005 as Development
Commissioner of Karnataka and Additional Chief Secretary to Govt. of Karnataka. The fact that he was
a popular officer in all the positions in a state far away from Punjab and was also a former Ambassador
of India to UNESCO in Paris, make him a role model. However even after his retirement his association
with numerous non-governmental organizations working in the fields of rural development, environment
and culture have endeared him among the people and made him wellknown for his social activities. He
is also a lover of Art and his house resembles an art gallery. His love for environment is evidenced from
his views on proper water management including a proper system of irrigation. He opines that whatever
water disputes are there, the same should be sorted out in such a way that maximum people are benefitted
by using the waters. “There is a water dispute between Gujarat and MP and Punjab and Haryana. There are
international disputes. Rivers like Danube flows through so many countries in Europe. The international
law of riparian rights is something we should look at”. In one of his recent interviews in Deccan chronicle
he gave usful suggestions to farmers for the best use of water. Bandhs and strikes are not the solution. The
farmers need to be educated regarding multi crop cultivation. The great role model is stated to have said
“One has to adopt a different mode of cultivation like SRI (system of rice intensification) method, which was
popularised by a Cornell University professor. If you use this method, water for paddy cultivation can be
cut down by half. I am associated with a NGO, Agriculture, Man and Ecology Foundation. We are working
in villages in Dharwad and Dharmapuri where water consumption for rice cultivation is at 50 per cent of
the normal. Secondly, the agricultural practices in Mandya date back to the fifties and sixties when a strong
extension system worked. There is no one now to tell farmers about the new methods in sugarcane and
paddy cultivation. Depending on the weather forecast, one has to change the crops. Cultivation of millets
is as profitable as paddy.We need a change of mindset, a bandh is not the solution”. Being a gursikh his
continuing services to the society in different fields make all the Sikhs proud of him and project him as the
real role model who need to be emulated for making our life useful and purposeful.
