Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi gets one-year extension

The Centre has given Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi an extension of a year.

It will be from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.

The decision was conveyed by the Department of Personnel and Training to the Haryana government on Thursday.

The Nayab Saini government had sought extension for Rastogi, who retires on June 30.

The extension has dashed the hopes of four 1990 batch officers and Rastogi's batchmates and five 1991 batch officers.

The 1990 batch officers — Sudhir Rajpal, Sumita Misra, Anand Mohan Sharan and Raja Shekhar Vundru — and the 1991 batch officers — Vineet Garg, Anil Malik, G Anupama, AK Singh and Abhilaksh Likhi — were in contention for the post.

Rastogi, the No 3 in the Haryana gradation list, first made to the top post, after the then incumbent Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi was appointed Election Commissioner in February this year with the BJP government ignoring the seniority principle.

While Rastogi comes after Rajpal and Misra in the gradation list, Rastogi got the benefit of the “seniority-related dispute” among the 1990 batch officers. Earlier, certain 1990 batch officers had moved an application against their fellow batch officers -- Rajpal and Misra -- as they had earlier been allocated non-Haryana cadre and had joined the Haryana cadre later. However, Rajpal and Misra are still at Nos 1 and 2 in the gradation list as there has been no decision on the petition against them.

Over the years, granting extensions to retiring chief secretaries, especially those close to the powers that be, has become a norm.

In neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, Rastogi’s batchmate and Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena was granted a six-month extension by the Centre in March. Similarly, Odisha Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja (1990), who was to retire in December 2024, was given a one-year extension by the Centre from January 1 on the recommendation of the state government.

Interestingly, UP Chief Secretary DS Mishra enjoyed unprecedented three extensions spanning two and a half years before retiring on June 30 last year.