Uncertainty over next Chief Secy to clear after CM returns from abroad

Uncertainty prevails over the appointment of the next Chief Secretary even as the six-month extension granted to incumbent Prabodh Saxena ends on September 30.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is on a tour abroad and it is after he returns on September 28 that the situation will become clear regarding the appointment of a new Chief Secretary. There is speculation that the state government may seek further extension in service for Saxena but reliable sources reveal that so far, no such communication has been sent to the Central Government.

On March 28, the Central Government had granted six months’ extension to Saxena, who was due to retire on March 31. Though the state government had sought one-month extension, the Central Government, as per the rules, had extended his service for six months till September 30. The issue of the grant of extension to Saxena has been challenged in the High Court of Himachal Pradesh and the matter is still being heard; the next date of hearing is October 13.

“If the government does not seek extension for Saxena, he will most likely be appointed Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC), for which selections have already been made but no name has been made public so far,” says a highly-placed source. Saxena along with retired Chief Secretary Ram Subhag Singh, who is at present Adviser to Chief Minister, and IAS officer Sanjay Gupta, who is Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board, are also in the race for the post of Chairman of the HPERC.

If the state government decides not to seek further extension for Saxena, the race for the top administrative post will hot up. There is also a possibility that the Chief Minister may not immediately appoint a regular Chief Secretary but may give additional charge to some officer.

Those who are in the race for the post of Chief Secretary include 1988-batch IAS officer Sanjay Gupta, who is the senior-most bureaucrat in service and is due to retire next year. Next in seniority is Kamlesh Kumar Pant of 1993 batch, who will retire in 2030. Third in seniority is Additional Chief Secretary Onkar Chand Sharma of 1994 batch who is due to retire in 2027. Anuradha Thakur, also from the 1994 batch, is at present on Central deputation in New Delhi.

In all probability, one of these four officers will succeed Saxena if the state government does not seek further extension in service for him. It is only after the Chief Minister returns to India that the picture regarding the appointment of the next Chief Secretary will become clear.