NOIDA: Former Delhi chief secretary and municipal commissioner Rakesh Mehta, 74, was found dead at his rented flat in Sector 82 on Sunday afternoon.Police recovered a one-page note in which the retired bureaucrat referred to his illnesses and stated that no one was responsible for his death.Mehta, a 1975-batch AGMUT-cadre IAS officer, took charge as Delhi chief secretary in December 2007 during the tenure of then chief minister Sheila Dikshit. He remained in the post until 2010, with his tenure coinciding with preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, one of the biggest administrative challenges faced by the capital.Before becoming chief secretary, Mehta held several key positions in the Delhi administration. He served as MCD commissioner, chairman and managing director of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), and secretary (power). He was known for his focus on urban governance and public transport.Rakesh Mehta’s role in Delhi’s public transportDuring his tenure at DTC, Mehta oversaw the transition away from the accident-prone Blue Line buses and the introduction of low-floor buses, which later became a familiar feature of Delhi’s roads.As chief secretary, Mehta was known as a media-savvy bureaucrat who pushed new projects and administrative reforms. After taking charge, he unveiled a 10-point agenda and advocated greater transparency in civic administration.He also backed changes to building bylaws and promoted the use of technology to make government services more accessible to citizens.Education and personal lifeMehta studied at St Stephen’s College, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the London School of Economics.He had been living alone at Central Vihar-2 in Noida for around five years. His wife, also a retired Delhi-cadre IAS officer, and their son live in Dehradun, while their married daughter is based in London. Family members visited him in Noida from time to time.According to police, Mehta’s wife last spoke to him on Saturday night. When repeated calls went unanswered on Sunday afternoon, family members alerted the society’s security staff. Two guards went to his flat and found him dead in one of the rooms. A police team and a relative living nearby arrived soon afterwards.A forensic team examined the flat and collected evidence before the body was sent for an autopsy. Till late Tuesday night, the family had not lodged any complaint, though police said an inquiry had been initiated into the circumstances surrounding the death.Family members said Mehta had been suffering from hypertension, diabetes and other health problems, including tremors in his right hand and leg.Mehta’s final rites were held in Delhi on Monday.
