Nirmala Buch, the first female Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh passed away on Sunday due to a protracted age-related illness. She was 96 years old.
Nirmala was in the 1960 batch of IAS officers and was well-known for her reputation as a "strict administrator" in the bureaucratic division. She held the position of Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh from September 1991 to September 1993. From the year 1975 to 1977, she also held the positions of financial and education secretary. Nirmala served a pioneering role in the creation of the "Gramin Vikas" and "Panchayati Raj" systems in MP whole working for the Yojana Aayog which is now renamed as NITI Ayog.
On her death, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan described the diligence and administrative efficiency she had in a message. Nirmala's husband, Mahesh Neelkanth Buch was also an IAS officer who passed away in 2015.
