Patel (88) retired as Joint Director from the Public Relations Department in 1990.
He passed away yesterday due to old age related issues, family sources said.
Patel is survived by wife, two daughters and a son, they said.
Expressing grief over the death of Patel, the Minister said that he was expert in Public Relations and had very good writing skills, an official release said.
The Minister also expressed deep condolences on the sudden death of Assistant Grade-3 of the department, Usha Rai yesterday, it added.