With the much-awaited allocation of portfolios among the newly-inducted ministers having already taken place on Sunday evening, the next critical task before the Haryana government is to implement changes in the state bureaucracy so that the expectations of both the public and the government could be met.
For that, the BJP government wants honest and competent officers to head crucial departments. The most significant appointment to be made is that of the Chief Secretary as the current incumbent, TVSN Prasad, is set to retire on October 31.
A 1989 batch IAS officer, Vivek Joshi, is said to be the frontrunner as per the seniority principle. He is currently on central deputation. Next in line of the race are 1990 batch officers, Sudhir Rajpal, Sumit Mishra, Ankur Gupta, Anutag Rastogi, And Mohan Sharan and Raha Shekhar Vundru.
In addition to the Chief Secretary, the post of Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management is also to be filled. This position has been lying vacant due to a raging controversy over seniority among the 1990 batch officers.
As the current Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister (PSCM), V Umashankar is going on central deputation, new CM nayab Singh Saini will have to
appoint a new Principal Secretary soon. The reshuffle may also bring in new Additional Principal Secretaries to the CM (APSCMs), a Deputy Principal Secretary (DPSCM), and additional Officers on Special Duty (OSDs), who are expected to be chosen from the existing cadre of bureaucrats.
Although the state government is preparing for a major overhaul in its bureaucratic setup, with multiple lists of transfers expected soon, the first list is likely to include officers who work closely with the Chief Minister.
