- CS is retiring on 29th November; apart from Veera Rana, names of Rajoura, Malay Srivastava, SN Mishra, JN Kansotiya are also in discussion
Chronicle Reporter, Bhopal
The results of the elections in Madhya Pradesh are to be declared on 3rd December and the question in everyone’s mind in the entire state is whose government will be formed. On the other hand, in the corridors of the ministry, the bigger question than formation of the government is whether Chief Iqbal Singh is retiring, or coming back to the ministry with another extension.
Actually, at present Iqbal Singh is the Chief Secretary of the state and the government has given him an extension of six months twice. Now his retirement is on 29th November. Since the code of conduct has just been imposed, only the Election Commission will take any decision on this issue. According to sources, till the formation of the new government, a senior officer can be given the charge on the basis of seniority. If this happens then Veera Rana will be given the charge of Chief Secretary. If sources are to be believed, Shivraj government has sent a proposal to give one more extension to Iqbal Singh Bains, but no one is officially confirming it. There is also discussion in the IAS lobby that this time the Center has expressed its disagreement on giving extension to Bains.
Ajay Tirkey, posted in the Central Government, is retiring in December 2023, hence it seems impossible for him to get a chance, whereas Anurag Jain’s retirement is to take place in August 2025. There are two IAS officers senior to Jain, Sanjay Bandopadhyay and Veera Rana. Bandopadhyay is posted at the center while Veera Rana is the president of Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education. Veera Rana’s retirement is in March 2024, and if the Election Commission decides to make the senior IAS officer posted in Madhya Pradesh the Chief Secretary for the arrangements till the election work is conducted, then Veera Rana’s name will be at the forefront. Bandopadhyay will retire in August 2024.
Names of these officers also in discussion
It is clear that the Chief Secretary will be decided only after the formation of the new government. Apart from Veera Rana, Dr. Rajesh Rajoura, SN Mishra and Malay Srivastava are also included. Veera Rana’s name is trending prominently. Along with Additional Chief Secretary Health Mohammad Suleman, who will retire in July 2025, the name of 1989 batch Ashish Upadhyay, posted at the Centre, is also there who will retire in September 2024. If Malay Srivastava’s claim is considered solid, then among his senior officers, the names of Vinod Kumar ACS GAD of 1989 batch and ACS Animal Husbandry JN Kansotiya of the same batch are included. Vinod Kumar will retire in May 2025 and Kansotiya in August 2025.
Send CR till 5
Meanwhile, the General Administration Department has issued a letter to all IAS officers. It has been said in the letter that the officers should self-evaluate the CR from April 1, 2023 to November 30, 2023 and send it online to their reporting officer. The reason for this is that if the current Chief Secretary retires, he will be able to write CR of officers only for one month. A letter has been issued to all IAS officers in this regard under the signature of Deputy Secretary Personnel Dharnendra Kumar Jain.
