Saini govt shuffles 44 IAS officers in overnight order, Sumita Misra is new Haryana home secretary

Last week, chief minister had replaced his predecessor ML Khattar’s picks with his own choices in CMO. Senior civil servant Ashok Khemka comes to Anil Vij’s transport department.

In her role as home secretary, 1990-batch IAS officer Sumita Misra will be working in close coordination with CM Nayab Saini, who also heads the home department | By Special Arrangement

Gurugram: Marking the first major change since Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini began his second term in October, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government transferred 44 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in Haryana on Sunday night.

Sumita Misra is the new home secretary of Haryana, taking over from Anurag Rastogi. She was earlier serving as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Medical Education and Research Department.

Apart from the home portfolio, the 1990 batch IAS officer will look after jails, criminal investigation and administration of justice departments. She will be working in close coordination with CM Saini, who also heads the home department.

Whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka, meanwhile, was shifted from the printing and stationery department to transport in the same post of additional chief secretary.

The mass administrative shakeup comes close on the heels of the transfer of five IAS officers on 27 November when in a late night reshuffle, Chief Minister Nayab Saini replaced his predecessor Manohar Lal Khattar’s picks in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) with his own choices.

A glance at the Haryana IAS Gradation List shows that the state has 169 IAS officers, including seven from the 2023 batch who have been appointed as Assistant Commissioners (under training) in various districts.

Of the remaining civil servants, 12 of them—Anil Malik, Abhilaksh Likhi, V Umashankar, Deepti Umashankar, Sukriti Likhi, Neeraja Sekhar, Rakesh Gupta, Nitin Kumar Yadav, Pankaj Yadav, Nikhil Gajraj, Garima Mittal and Vijay Kumar—are on central deputation.

Additionally, two others—Mandeep Singh Brar and Nishant Yadav—are on deputation to the Union Territory of Chandigarh as Home Secretary and Deputy Commissioner. IAS officers Vinay Pratap Singh and Jatinder Singh Chhillar are awaiting orders.

Among those transferred Sunday night is Ashok Khemka, one of the most prominent and frequently transferred IAS officers in the country. The 1991-batch officer has taken on the role of additional chief secretary in the Transport Department, a department headed by BJP veteran Anil Vij.

Khemka has faced over 56 transfers throughout his three-decade career. He is said to have a close professional rapport with Transport Minister Anil Vij. In April 2022, Vij accompanied Khemka to the Panchkula police commissioner when the latter was engaged in a dispute with another IAS officer Sanjeev Verma. Khemka had lodged a police complaint against Verma and a private resident for the alleged fabrication of official documents.

Anurag Rastogi, the former home secretary, was reassigned as the financial commissioner (revenue). He retained his position as the additional chief secretary (finance), ensuring continuity in financial governance.

Another civil servant Sudhir Rajpal was made additional chief secretary for health, aviation, medical education, research, and AYUSH, emphasizing the government’s focus on holistic health and infrastructure development. D. Suresh has taken on the dual roles of resident commissioner at Haryana Bhavan in New Delhi and principal secretary for the industries and commerce department.

Additionally, Shyamal Misra was assigned multiple roles, including chief administrator of the Haryana Trade Fair Authority, CEO of the Faridabad and Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authorities, and Principal Secretary of the civil aviation department.

Anand Mohan Sharan was given charge of the food, civil supplies, and consumer affairs department, along with the environment, forests, and wildlife department. Meanwhile, Vineet Garg was appointed chairman of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board and would also oversee the higher education department.

Mohammad Sain has assumed the position of commissioner and secretary for the PHE (Public Health Engineering) department.

Other prominent appointments include CG Rajini Kaanthan (transport commissioner), A. Shree Niwas (commissioner of Hisar division and MD of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Nigam), and Sanjay June (CEO of Faridabad Smart City Ltd).

(Edited by Tony Rai)