Haryana ex-Chief Secy DS Dhesi gets lion’s share in CMO reshuffle

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 9

Former Chief Secretary of Haryana DS Dhesi, who was specially appointed as the Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar last year, will now be the “super boss” in the CM’s Office (CMO).

After the reshuffle, Dhesi would call the shots as he had been allocated at least 13 important departments besides being the overall incharge of the CMO.

The departments under Dhesi’s jurisdiction include legislative proposals to be brought before the Council of Minister, Parliamentary Affairs, Law and Legislative, Excise and Taxation, Irrigation, General Administration, Vigilance, Home, Town and Country Planning, Finance and Planning, Urban Local Bodies, Foreign Cooperation, Industries, Electronics and Information Technology, and Citizen Resource Information.

Meanwhile, Principal Secretary to CM V Umashankar will have to be content with merely half a dozen of departments, including Revenue and Rehabilitation, Transport, Mines and Geology, Civil Aviation, Renewable Energy, and Science and Technology.

Additional Principal Secretary to CM Amit Aggarwal will look after 10 departments, including Health and Medical Education, Higher Education, School Education, Technical Education, Development Panchayats, Forests and Wildlife, Labour and Employment, and Power.

However, Ashima Brar, Deputy Principal Secretary to CM, will hold the charge of maximum 16 departments. These include Architecture, Archaeology, Elections, Environment, Food and Supplies, Fisheries, Housing, Public Health Engineering, Printing and Stationery, Sports and Youth Affairs, Women and Child Development, Public Works, Agriculture, Cooperation, and Sainik and Ardh Sainik Welfare.

IRS officer Yogender Chaudhary, Adviser, Resource Mobilisation, has been entrusted with departments such as Art and Culture, Social Justice and Empowerment, Tourism, Welfare of SCs and BCs, Project Director (Drug-Free Haryana Mission), Matter Relating to Resource Mobilisation, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and Industrial Training and Vocational Education.

HCS officer Satish Kumar, OSD to CM, will look after Khattar’s announcements, CM Relief Fund, Haryana Rural Development Fund (HRDF) and Waqf while another HCS officer Sudhanshu Gautam, OSD to CM, will take care of the Online Transfer Policy. Neeraj Daftaur,Principal OSD to CM, will look after Public Relations, Bhupeshwar Dayal will continue to look after grievances.

All policy matters related to different departments are sent to the CM through the officers incharge, who wield considerable influence taking the decisions.

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