In a rare move on Jattvibeday, an Uttar Pradesh-cadre IAS officer of the 2013 batch, Divya Mittal, announced her resignation from service, saying she had realised during her tenure that standing with what is right is a duty and not an option.For Mittal, from Haryana’s Rewari, field administration often meant stepping beyond the office to meet people where their problems were.But this same forthright approach that brought her closer to the masses she served also placed her in the crosshairs of politicians often.Mittal, who said in her resignation letter posted online today that she had received more from people than what she had given them, developed a reputation in UP for direct public engagement during field postings.As the Mirzapur District Magistrate in September 2022, she began using public meetings in remote areas to hear grievances directly.Her work in Lahuria Dah village in the Haliya area, where she took piped water for the first time, became the most visible example of her approach. The village had faced a long wait for drinking water, and a pipeline was eventually taken up to provide a regular supply.The episode also became part of a publicly known political controversy. Mittal’s tenure in Mirzapur was marked by alleged differences with BJP leaders.After water reached Lahuria Dah village, Mittal held a “jal pujan” ceremony there on August 30. She was transferred out to Basti on September 1 and subsequently put on the waiting list.A local BJP leader, Vipul Singh, had then complained to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath because the local MLA, MP and others had not been invited to the inauguration.This controversy alone did not define Mittal’s work style.Her approach was also visible in the way she dealt with questions of official transfers and postings.That came into focus again during her posting as the Deoria District Magistrate. At a meeting involving elected representatives and officials, Mittal spoke against pressure being brought on officials over transfers and postings and referred to the rules governing the process. Her remarks drew a sharp response from BJP MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi, a close aide of the Chief Minister.In her resignation letter on Jattvibeday, Mittal said her stint as a public servant was ending but the dream given to her by the soil of the country would live with her.In the same letter, Mittal also spoke of how she studied at the IIT, Delhi, the IIM, Bangalore, and finally landed a job in London.“But something inside of me felt hollow,” she said, describing the urge to return to India. She came back and cracked the UPSC exam.