Vivek Joshi likely to be new Chief Secretary amid major bureaucratic reshuffle in Haryana

Haryana is gearing up for a major administrative overhaul with the appointment of a new Chief Secretary (CS), a new Financial Commissioner Revenue (FCR), and a new Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister (PSCM). Additionally, significant changes are expected within the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), including political appointments.

Honest, competent officers for CMO

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As people have reposed faith in the BJP for the third time in a row, the BJP government wants honest and competent officers to run crucial departments, especially the CMO. Senior BJP functionary

Current Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad is set to retire on October 31. Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch IAS officer currently on Central deputation, is the frontrunner for the position as the Haryana Government looks to follow the ‘seniority principle’, particularly given the ‘seniority issues’ among 1990-batch IAS officers. Next in line for the Chief Secretary role are 1990-batch officers Sudhir Rajpal, Sumita Misra, Ankur Gupta, Anurag Rastogi, Anand Mohan Sharan, and Raja Sekhar Vundru.

In addition to the Chief Secretary appointment, Haryana will also fill the long-vacant post of Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management (FCR). This position, the second-most senior bureaucrat in the state government, has remained vacant due to seniority disputes among 1990-batch officers.

With V Umashankar, the current PSCM, going on Central deputation, the Nayab Singh Saini government will appoint a new PSCM soon. This shift is expected to coincide with broader changes in the CMO, including several political appointments. Among the new political roles, the government will appoint a Media Adviser to the CM, a Political Secretary to the CM, and a few Officers on Special Duty (OSDs).

The reshuffle may also bring in new Additional Principal Secretaries to the CM (APSCMs), a Deputy Principal Secretary to the CM (DPSCM), and additional OSDs, likely drawn from serving bureaucrats. A senior BJP functionary emphasised that most of these appointments would be made in consultation with the party high command.

“As people have reposed faith in the BJP for the third time in a row, the BJP government wants honest and competent officers to run crucial departments, especially the CMO,” said the functionary.

What’s in the offing

• New Chief Secretary, with Vivek Joshi as the frontrunner
• Financial Commissioner Revenue to be appointed from 1990-batch officers
• New Principal Secretary to CM as incumbent goes on Central deputation
• CMO to see new political appointees, including Media Adviser, Political Secretary, and OSDs
• Bureaucratic reshuffle in the CMO also expected