HARYANA IAS RESHUFFLE: Ashok Khemka transferred to dept of social justice; Rajni Sekhri Sibal, others transferred

IN A major administrative reshuffle at senior level in Haryana, the state government transferred 13 IAS officers including nine additional chief secretaries and three principal secretaries, the most notable being Ashok Khemka of 1991 batch who hogged the limelight during the UPA regime for canceling the mutation of the land deal between Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and real estate major DLF. Khemka who is currently the principal secretary in the ministry of science and technology in Haryana government will now be…

the principal secretary in the department of social justice and empowerment. 1986 batch Rajni Sekhri Sibal will now handle the science and technology department apart from acting as the chairperson-cum-managing director of Haryana Minerals Ltd, New Delhi. She had earlier served as a joint secretary in the department of animal husbandry under the union ministry of rural development and farmer’s welfare in New Delhi before getting shifted to the cadre in early 2016. She is also the author of “Kamadhenu: Cows of India”, possibly the only Indian bureaucrat to author a book on cows. 

Sunil Kumar Gulati, 1984 batch IAS and additional secretary in the department of forests and wildlife, has been transferred to the fisheries department. He was dragged into a controversy recently when some Indian Forest Service officers complained against him on certain “behavioural” issues. Gulati is an M.Tech from IIT Delhi and MBA from IIM Bangalore. Siddhi Nath Roy, a 1987 batch IAS, will now be the new principal secretary, forests and wildlife.

The other transfers include the posting of 1984 batch IAS Ms Navraj Sandhu in cooperation department and 1986 batch IAS Ms Dheera Khandelwal as additional chief secretary in the environment department. Ms Sandhu belongs to Haryana itself. She did her MA in political science before getting into IAS. Ms Khandelwal originally hails from Uttar Pradesh. Interestingly, she is one the few IAS officers who know Sanskrit language too. 

Sudeep Singh Dhillon, 1984 batch IAS, has been posted as additional chief secretary in the women and child development department. This civil engineer-turned IAS originally belonged to Punjab. Prasanta Kumar Mahapatra, a 1985 batch IAS, has been appointed as additional chief secretary in public health engineering department with additional charge of animal husbandry and dairying department. 

Krishan Kumar Khandelwal,1985 batch IAS and additional chief secretary in sports and youth affairs, will now look after the department of school education. And 1986 batch IAS Pranab Kishore Das will be the new additional chief secretary in power department.

The other reshuffle include the shifting of Roop Ram Jowel, 1986 batch IAS, as additional chief secretary in the transport department and bestowing of additional charge of the Panchayats department to Anurag Rastogi, 1990 batch IAS.