Fresh appointments, several lateral shifts in Centre’s bureaucratic reshuffle
The reshuffling has come at a time when the model code of conduct (MCC) is in effect owing to the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
In a major bureaucratic reshuffle involving fresh appointments and lateral shifts at the secretary level, the Union government on Monday appointed senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pradip Kumar Tripathi as the secretary to the Lokpal of India.
A 1987-batch IAS officer from the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre, Tripathi is currently the Secretary (Coordination) in the Cabinet Secretariat.
Tripathi has been appointed as secretary to the Lokpal till the date of his superannuation (June 30) and thereafter on contract basis for a period of two years beyond the date of his superannuation on usual terms and conditions applicable to re-employed central government officers, an order issued by the appointments committee of the Cabinet said.
Border management secretary Raj Kumar Goyal, a 1990-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as secretary, department of justice under the ministry of law and Justice. Rajendra Kumar, a 1991-batch Tamil Nadu cadre officer, will replace Goyal as border management secretary under the ministry of home affairs (MHA). Kumar was the director general of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under the ministry of labour and employment.
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New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) chairperson Amit Yadav, a 1991-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer, has been named as officer on special duty in the department of social justice and empowerment. “The officer will take over as Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment vice Saurabh Garg upon his superannuation on July 31,” the order said. Garg also holds the post of secretary, ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI).
In a significant move, the Centre has elevated Rakesh Ranjan, special secretary in the department of agriculture and farmers welfare, to the position of chairman of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC). The appointment entails a temporary upgrade of the post, with Ranjan — a 1992-batch Manipur cadre officer — assuming the rank and pay equivalent to that of a secretary to the government of India.
The reshuffling has come at a time when the model code of conduct (MCC) is in effect owing to the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. “During MCC, most transfers are on Election Commission’s orders,” former chief election commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi said. “This is mostly done on complaints from opposition or the observers against officers for not doing their job: ignoring malpractices, not listening to complaints, any evidence of partisanship, etc. In this case, none of the reasons would apply. Despite that, permission of EC would have been taken.”
The committee has also sanctioned the repatriation of Ajay Tewari, additional secretary in the power ministry, to his parent Assam-Meghalaya (AM) cadre on a request from the Assam government, with the imposition of an extended “cooling off” period. The post upon the enactment of the order will get vacant, it added.
