Pawan Kadyan, the new SDO. Picture by Sudeshna Banerjee

Salt Lake has a new sub-divisional officer (SDO). Pawan Kadyan took over from his predecessor Sanjoy Das in an informal ceremony at the administrative building of the SDO at DJ 4.

Kadyan, who hails from Haryana, is the first Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer to be appointed as an SDO of Bidhannagar sub-division. At 28, he is also the youngest SDO here.

Kadyan, who has participated in national level swimming and water polo competitions, completed his IAS training in 2012 and served his probation as assistant magistrate and assistant collector in Malda before he moved here. “Being the son of a navy officer with a transferable job, I have spent my growing-up years in several parts of the country,” he said. His wife is in the Indian Foreign Service, now posted in Paris.

“I joined during the festive season, on September 25. The experience so far has been pleasant. People here are very warm and co-operating,” he said.

Kadyan doesn’t find much of a difference between his duties in Malda and at Bidhannagar. “The administration part is the same. The basic difference is that Salt Lake has problems typical of urban localities,” he pointed out, adding that he intends to focus on all sectors of the township.

Das, who served as the SDO from August 31, 2013 to September 25, 2014, will now be the project director, district rural development cell, Cooch Behar.