Nilambari Vijay to be city’s first woman SSP

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, May 31

A 2008-batch Punjab-cadre IPS officer, Jagdale Nilambari Vijay, will be the first woman Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Chandigarh as the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has approved  her name.

The Administration had recommended  her name for the post to the ministry after it was approved  by  VP Singh Badnore, Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator, from a panel of three officers received from the Punjab Government  last month.

The city SSP’s post has been lying vacant after Sukhchain Singh Gill, a 2003-batch IPS officer, was repatriated to Punjab in December last year.

Sources said her   final order might take   some time. As  per the  practice, the final appointment takes place after the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. While the city has many women IAS officers at the senior level of the Administration, that is not the case with the police. Kiran Bedi was appointed the IGP of the city long time ago. Since then, no women officer has been appointed on a top post in the Police Department   The ministry  has  also approved  Shashank Anand’s  name for the   post of Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic), Chandigarh. His name was recommended  by the Administration.   

 The post of the SSP (Traffic) has been lying vacant since the term of Maneesh Chaudhary, a 2005-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, ended on May 7, 2016. 

Lobbying may further delay appointment of FS

Intense lobbying may further delay the appointment of the new Finance Secretary of Chandigarh. Sources said while the Administration had recommended  the name of AK Sinha for the post of Finance Secretary, other contenders for the  post are also trying  hard in Delhi. The post of the  Finance Secretary has been  lying vacant after the Administration relived Finance Secretary Sarvjit Singh  in February. Sinha’s  name was included in the second panel sent by the  Government of Punjab.  The other officers  in the panel   included  Vikas Partap Rahul Tiwari and Anurag Verma. The Administration is already facing a shortage of officers as it is  yet to get the replacement for  Addapa Karthik and Bhavna Garg. The  transfer of the  three  IAS  officers, including  Dr SB  Deepak  Kumar,  has  further  deepened the  crisis of officers  in the Administration.   

MP Singh, Sandhu to continue at Raj Bhawan   

 While MP  Singh, Additional  Chief  Secretary, and Raj Bachan Singh Sandhu, ADC,  have offered to leave their  postings at  the Raj Bhawan, VP Singh Badnore, Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator, has asked  both of them to  continue  till their replacement is found.   

 Sources  said  Badnore  had  conveyed to Punajb  that ADC Raj Bachan Singh Sandhu and ACS  MP  Singh would continue to serve till the new appointments were made. He had earlier  rejected the name of Ashish Kapoor for the post of the ADC. The sources said Badnore had asked Punjab to send a panel of IPS officers for the ADC’s post and IAS  officers’ names for the  post of Principal  Secretary.