State faces acute shortage of principal secretaries

Neena Sharma

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 19

After Principal Secretary MH Khan was relieve to join duty in his home cadre Manipur, the shortage of IAS officers of the rank of principal secretaries has become starker. To aggravate the situation, the Department of Personnel has the immediate task of assigning the departments headed by MH Khan.

Again, against the sanctioned posts of eight principal secretaries, the government has just four principal secretaries to take care of the departments.

MH Khan was heading the Department of Home Affairs and Department of Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises. But, among the two departments, all eyes are on the Department of Home Affairs, an important department that cannot remain headless for long.

The government is looking at all the possibilities including assigning additional departments to the four principal secretaries or undertaking a minor shuffle. The principal secretaries who are in the reckoning for the departments earlier held by MH Khan include principal secretary Manisha Panwar, who is still awaiting assigning of departments after her short stint at the Centre, Principal Secretary Ranbir Singh who has been assigned the responsibilities of the Department of Forest and Environment, Principal Secretary S Ramaswamy, who has been assigned the Department of Planning and Transport and Principal Secretary Om Prakash, who is Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and also heads the Department of Medicine and Health.

Further, the decision regarding the central deputation of S Ramaswamy is still pending.

Amid the existing officers whose names are being touted for the department, rumours are also swirling around the possibility of a senior IAS officer now on deputation to the Centre returning to Uttarakhand.

Further, as Cabinet minister Preetam Singh is also in charge of the Department of Home Affairs, his consent is also expected to be sought before assigning the department.