Senior-most bureaucrat Gupta gets additional charge of Chief Secretary

Sanjay Gupta, a 1988-batch IAS officer, was today given the additional charge of the post of Chief Secretary of Himachal. He was posted as Additional Chief Secretary, Town and Country Planning and Housing, and was given the additional charge of the post of Chief Secretary.

Gupta is the senior-most bureaucrat in the state and is due to retire next year and the additional charge of Chief Secretary has come as a surprise. He was posted as the Chairman of the State Pollution Control Board following the retirement of Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena on Tuesday evening.

Following Gupta’s posting as Chairman of the State Pollution Control Board, Additional Chief Secretary KK Pant appeared to have moved ahead in the race for the post of Chief Secretary. The Chief Minister, however, decided to give the additional charge to Gupta, apparently considering his seniority.

Pant will now function as Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue, Forest, Home and Vigilance. Additional Chief Secretary Onkar Sharma, who was among the candidates for the post of Chief Secretary on the basis of his seniority, was given the additional charge of the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Ropeways and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation Limited.

Meanwhile, barely hours after Saxena retired as Chief Secretary on Tuesday evening, the government appointed him as the Chairman of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) for three years. Saxena would report to the Chief Minister and would be equivalent in rank, status and responsibility to the post of Chief Secretary.

In another major development, the government today cancelled the selection process for the Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission at the eleventh hour. The selection panel had interviewed candidates and shortlisted a few of them. The selection process would start all over again now.