Secretary Ministry of Mines Anil Mukim (IAS:1985:GJ) was on Thursday repatriated to his parent cadre Gujarat, fueling speculation that he could become the next chief secretary of the state. Incumbent chief secretary J N Singh (IAS:1983:GJ) is due to retire on November 30.
Mukim is front-runner for the post of chief secretary of Gujarat, and his repatriation makes it likely that he will replace Singh, sources in the state bureaucracy said.
Other senior IAS officers who are said to be in the contention for the post are Arvind Agarwal (IAS:1984:GJ), Sangita Singh (IAS:1986:GJ) and Pankaj Kumar (IAS:1986:GJ).
He last served as additional chief secretary of the general administrative department in Gujarat, till February 2016, when he was deputed to the government of India.
Mukim has experience heading the finance, revenue, health & family welfare departments of the state government. He also served as municipal commissioner of Ahmedabad. Mukim is one of the few officers to have considerable administrative experience in the government of India as well.