Jaipur, Nov 21 (IANS) The state government implemented a major late-night administrative reshuffle on Friday, transferring 48 IAS officers in one of the biggest bureaucratic reassignments of the year.
The shake-up follows the appointment of new Chief Secretary V. Srinivas and is being viewed as a significant realignment within the Chief Minister’s Office, especially after Sudhansh Pant proceeded on central deputation.
As part of the changes, Chief Minister’s ACS Shikhar Agarwal has been shifted to the Industries Department, while Akhil Arora, ACS of the Water Supply Department, has been appointed ACS to the Chief Minister. Roadways MD Purushottam Sharma has been given additional charge as Commissioner of the Transport Department.
The reshuffle also marks a substantial elevation in the responsibilities of PWD ACS Praveen Gupta, who has been assigned additional portfolios, including ACS Tourism, Art & Culture, Chairman of RTDC, and CEO of the Amer Development Authority.
Alok Gupta, earlier Principal Secretary of Industries and BIP, has been appointed Chairman of the Pollution Control Board, while Shikhar Agarwal replaces him in Industries. Rajesh Yadav, Principal Secretary of Tourism and Art & Culture, has been moved out of the Secretariat and posted as DG, HCM RIPA, marking a complete change in his responsibilities. Several crucial financial and administrative shifts were announced as well.
Naveen Jain has been transferred from the Finance (Expenditure) Department to the General Administration Department, where he will also serve as Secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat, Protocol, and Resident Commissioner in Delhi.
In the Health sector, Gayatri Rathore, after her promotion, has been given the additional responsibility of Principal Secretary, Medical Education, while Dinesh Kumar has been shifted from Revenue to the Administrative Reforms Department.
Manju Rajpal’s portfolio has also expanded, with additional charge of Agriculture and Horticulture and Chairmanship of the Seed Corporation, making him responsible for three major departments.
Important departmental reshuffles include the transfer of Bhawani Singh Detha from Food to the Women and Child Development Department and the expansion of Ravi Jain’s role as he continues as Secretary of Local Self Government while also becoming DLB Commissioner and JCTCL Chairman.
Ravi Kumar Surpur has been moved from Chairman of the Pollution Control Board to Secretary of the IT Department, with additional charge of Planning Manpower and Chairman of Rajcomp Info Services Limited. Ambarish Kumar has been shifted from Medical Education to the Food and Civil Supplies Department.
Key postings in other sectors include Jogaram, who has been given charge of the Revenue and Panchayati Raj Departments along with the post of Panchayati Raj Commissioner, while Rohit Gupta has been appointed MD of Rajasthan Renewable Energy Limited.
In divisional changes, Nalini Kathotia has been appointed Divisional Commissioner of Bharatpur, replacing Tina Soni, who has been moved to Finance (Expenditure).
Rajan Vishal has been transferred from Agriculture and Horticulture to the Finance (Budget) Department and appointed CEO of the Public Finance Management Training Committee. Shuchi Tyagi has been assigned as Secretary of the Transport and Devasthan Departments.
Among the APO officers, Archana Singh has been appointed Secretary of the Personnel Department, Himanshu Gupta as Secretary of the IT Department and MD of Rajcomp, Harphool Yadav as Commissioner of the Kota Development Authority, and Nidhi Patel as Additional CEO of the State Health Insurance Agency.
Additional appointments include Babulal Goyal as Commissioner of Devasthan, Bachanesh Kumar Agarwal as MD of Rajfed, Shubham Chaudhary as Horticulture Commissioner, and Iqbal Khan as Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities and Secretary.
–IANS
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