The Union Ministry of Home Affairs is contemplating a significant revamp of the senior bureaucratic ranks in the upcoming days, as the chief secretaries of three Union Territories—Chandigarh, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir—are set to retire between October and November. This restructuring is anticipated to have an impact on Goa and Arunachal Pradesh as well.
If insider reports are to be believed, approximately six senior IAS officers and an equal number of IPS officers from the AGMUT cadre (from batches 1989 to 1995) nationwide are expected to be part of this reshuffling. Extensions of tenure are likely to be granted in at least one case each within the administrative and police services.
Front-runners for postings in Delhi and Chandigarh include Arunachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Dharmendra (IAS:1989:AGMUT), Goa Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel (IAS:1991:AGMUT), and New Delhi Municipal Council Chairperson Amit Yadav (IAS:1991:AGMUT). Notably, the tenures of Goel and Yadav are also coming to an end.
Prashant Goyal (IAS:1993:AGMUT) and Sharat Chauhan (IAS:1994:AGMUT) are among the top contenders for postings in Chandigarh. Currently, Goyal serves as the Principal Secretary in Jammu and Kashmir’s Housing and Urban Development Department, while Chauhan holds the position of Principal Secretary in Arunachal Pradesh, overseeing Finance, Health & Family Welfare, EF&CC, Planning & Investment, and serving as the Chairman of the Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board.
The Adviser to the Administrator of Chandigarh, Dharampal (IAS:1988:AGMUT), is retiring this month. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar (IAS:1987:AGMUT) and Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta (IAS:1988:AGMUT) are scheduled to retire by the end of November. According to reliable sources, Mehta’s successor may be chosen from among Atal Dulloo (IAS:1989:AGMUT) and Raj Kumar Goyal (IAS:1990:AGMUT). Dulloo is presently on central deputation as the Secretary of the Department of Border Management, and Goyal is serving in Jammu and Kashmir as the Financial Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department.
Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General of Police, Dilbagh Singh (IPS:1987:AGMUT), is set to retire by the end of this month. In November, Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sujoy Lal Thaosen (IPS:1988:MP), is also scheduled to retire.
