Shimla, July 6: In a significant bureaucratic reshuffle, the Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday transferred and posted 18 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers with immediate effect. The changes, approved on the recommendations of the Civil Services Board, were notified by the Department of Personnel as part of a major administrative overhaul aimed at strengthening governance across key departments and districts.
The most notable change is the assignment of an additional responsibility to Dr Abhishek Jain (IAS: 2002). Already serving as Advisor (Regulatory Reforms) and holding the portfolios of Principal Secretary (Finance, Planning, Economics & Statistics, Revenue, Home and Technical Education), he has now also been entrusted with the charge of Financial Commissioner (Appeals).
Sudesh Kumar Mokhta (IAS: 2010), who was awaiting posting, has been appointed Secretary (Cooperation). Meanwhile, Amarjeet Singh (IAS: 2010) has been shifted as Secretary (Town and Country Planning & Housing) and will continue to hold the additional charge of Secretary (Home).
The government has also made changes in the leadership of several public sector undertakings. Torul S. Raveesh (IAS: 2016) has been appointed Director, Land Records, while Abhishek Verma (IAS: 2018) will now serve as Managing Director, Himachal Pradesh MILKFED. Ajay Kumar Yadav (IAS: 2018) has been transferred as Managing Director, Himachal Pradesh Medical Services Corporation, replacing Divyanshu Singal (IAS: 2020), who has been posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-Project Director (DRDA), Solan.
Among district-level postings, Mahendra Pal Gurjar has been appointed Director (Personnel & Finance), HP Power Transmission Corporation, while Vinay Kumar has been posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development)-cum-Project Director (DRDA), Kangra, with additional charge of Managing Director of the HP State Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation.
Further, Rahul Jain has been appointed Managing Director, HP Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, with additional charge as Registrar of Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry and Administrative Head of Manav Bharati University. Om Kant Thakur has been posted as Managing Director, HP State Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation, while Gursiman Singh has been appointed Managing Director, General Industries Corporation Ltd.
The reshuffle also includes field-level administrative appointments. Ishant Jaswal has been posted as ADC (Development)-cum-Project Director, DRDA Una, Rupinder Kaur as ADC (Development)-cum-Project Director, Bilaspur, Rajdeep Singh as Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Solan, and Priyanshu Khati as ADC (Development)-cum-Project Director, Mandi. Additionally, Dr Anjali Garg has been appointed Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil), Kangra, while Chandra Prakash has been posted as Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil), Mandi.
The transfers come into effect immediately and are expected to strengthen administrative functioning across departments, public sector undertakings and district administrations in the state.
