Rajbala Verma- The Iron Lady of Administration

IAS officer, from the batch of 1983, who served in Bihar cadre, and then opted for Jharkhand cadre, after the bifurcation of Bihar, is Rajbala Verma. She is currently the Chief Secretary of Jharkhand and she also is the second woman to hold this post.

All of us are aware of her espectable job. She is considered the personal favourite of Honorable CM of Jharkhand, Shri Raghubar Das. It is believed by most of the people, that it is Rajbala Verma, who is running the government, rather than “honest but inefficient” Raghubar Das.

She is considered to be a highly controversial officer. People respect her because she is incorruptible. She was widely regarded as a tough task master in 1990s. One one hand, she became a ray of hope for millions of teen aged girls in Bihar, on the other hand, there were indications that she used to help Rabri Devi run the administration, who didn’t even know alphabets.

She was born and brought up in Rajasthan. She cracked UPSC Civil Services Examination in 1983 and got Bihar cadre. Her first job experience was under R.K. Singh, who was the DM of Patna, in 1984. After the assassination of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, the anti -Sikh riots started everywhere. There were a large number of Sikhs in Patna, because of Guru Gobind Singh. R.K. Singh and Rajbala Verma worked together and tirelessly to make sure that Patna is free from riots and that the Sikhs of Patna are safe.

After training, her first posting was in Begusarai, as an SDO. This district of Bihar has produced so many mafias. Young Rajbala, fought against everyone and all the difficulties that came in her way to a successful career. That was also the first time when board exams were conducted, in Begusarai, with no incident of cheating. Rajbala, then, as the DM of Gaya, worked to keep Ranbir Sena and Maoists under check.

She was called “The Iron Lady of Administration“, even then, and it is still being continued.

She is married to Mr. J.B. Tubid, who also was an IAS officer. Mr. Tubid was senior to his wife. He was about to be named the Chief Secretary of Jharkhand, but he resigned, to fight the Assembly Election from Chaibasa, on BJP ticket. Though he lost the election, people say that honest people are not made for politics. Mrs. and Mr. Tubid have a son, Tanuj Bhramar, who is into films and has directed a 2016 film, Dear Dad and acted in a few films.

She is an inspiration to not only the girls, but everyone. She never looked back or even cared what media talked of her. She is strong-willed and a ‘woman’ of her words. She is sober and gentle. She works for the state. She can be fierce, when provoked. She faced a lot of allegations, but believes in working silently. Her successful career and achievements are enough to defy the allegations.

 

Story covered by Tanya Ranjan