Iqbal Singh Chahal (Indian IAS Officer) Biography

Quick Info

Profession	IAS Officer
Nationality	Indian
Date of Birth	20/01/1966
Age	60 years
Birthplace	Sri Ganganagar Rajasthan

Latest News about Iqbal Singh Chahal

01/02/2026

Senior IAS officer Iqbal Singh Chahal, a 1989-batch Maharashtra cadre officer who retired after serving as BMC Commissioner, has been appointed Chairman of the Mumbai Police Housing Township Project with the rank of Minister of State (MoS). He assumed office on February 1, 2026, for a five-year tenure. This marks a significant post-retirement assignment, making him the second senior bureaucrat in the Maharashtra government to receive an MoS-rank post after Praveen Pardeshi.

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Physical Stats & More

Height	173 cm
Eye Color	Dark Brown
Hair Color	Black

Educational Qualification(s)

School	St. Joseph’s Convent Secondary School, Pathankot, Punjab Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1 (Army), Jodhpur, Rajasthan Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1 AFS, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
College/University	Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, Punjab Harvard University Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad, Telangana Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA), Pune, Maharashtra
Educational Qualification(s)	B.Tech (honours) in Electronics and Communication with distinction at the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology Public Administration at Harvard University Administrative Courses at University of Cambridge, ASCI, IIPA, and YASHADA

Personal Life

Age (as of 2023)

57 Years

Parents

Father	M. S. Chahal (retired lieutenant colonel of the Indian Army)

Marital Status

Married

Family

Parents

Father-in-law	Ajit Singh Chatha (retired IAS officer, former Punjab Chief Secretary)

Siblings

Rajender Singh (businessman, residing in the United States of America)

Relationships & More

Marital Status	Married

Career

Civil Service

Service	Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
Batch	1989
Cadre	Maharashtra
Major Designation(s)	Supernumerary Assistant Collector of Nashik (9 July 1990 - 25 August 1991) Assistant Collector at the Land Revenue Management & District Administration/Sub Divisional Administration (26 August 1991 - 26 January 1993) Chief Executive Officer of the Zila Parishad in Nashik (27 January 1993 - 8 July 1996) Additional Commissioner of Aurangabad (9 July 1996 - 7 September 1997) District Collector (DC) of Aurangabad (8 September 1997 - 10 June 2001) DC of Thane (11 June 2001 - 24 December 2004) Joint Secretary of the Environment Department in Mumbai (7 January 2005 - 1 April 2005) DC of the Land Revenue Management & District Administration/Sub Divisional Administration in Thane (1 January 2002 - 5 April 2005) Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Dharavi Redevelopment Project in Mumbai (5 April 2005 - 11 May 2006) Vice Chairman and CEO of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (11 May 2006 - 8 August 2007) Commissioner of the Prohibition and Excise Department (13 August 2007 - 9 June 2011) Secretary of the Medical Education Department (26 August 2011 - 4 March 2013) Principal Secretary of the Water Resources Department and the Maharashtra government (2 May 2016 - 24 February 2020) Principal Secretary to the state government in the Urban Development Department (24 February 2020 - 8 May 2020) Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) (8 May 2020 - present) Additional Chief Secretary (post-BMC)

Designations Held in The Centre

Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) (5 March 2013 - 10 October 2014)
Joint Secretary of the Women & Child Development Ministry (10 August 2014 - 30 August 2015)
Joint Secretary of the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Ministry (6 November 2015 - 26 February 2016)

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. Iqbal Singh Chahal is a senior IAS officer from the 1989 batch in Maharashtra.
2. During the COVID-19 crisis, he gained recognition for implementing the “Mumbai Model” and the “Dharavi Model” as the BMC Commissioner.
3. Chahal came into the limelight when the Bombay High Court summoned him regarding BMC's response to fixing potholes in Mumbai.
4. After finishing his studies, he successfully passed the UPSC civil services examination.
5. In 2019, he received a bronze medal at the Tata-organized Mumbai Marathon.
6. Chahal enjoys traveling and has explored many countries around the world.
7. He contributed to Maharashtra winning the National Water Award in 2018 and 2019 through water resource reforms.
8. He received the Qimpro Medal 2021 for Extraordinary Achievements and Newsmakers Achievers Awards in 2021.

Iqbal Singh Chahal IAS Officer Indian Sri Ganganagar Rajasthan