 He entered the Indian Civil Service as an assistant magistrate of Alipur in 1871.A famine in Meherpur district of Nadia in 1874 and another in Dakhin Shahbazpur (Bhola District) in 1876, followed by a disastrous cyclone, required emergency relief and economic recovery operations, which Dutt managed successfully.He served as administrator for Backerganj, Mymensingh, Burdwan, Donapur, and Midnapore.