Vivek Joshi is new Chief Secretary

Vivek Joshi, a 1989 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, is the new Chief Secretary of Haryana.

The orders for the appointment of the senior-most IAS officer of the Haryana cadre as Chief Secretary were issued yesterday. Besides being Chief Secretary, he will also be in charge of general administration, personnel and training, parliamentary affairs and plan coordination.

However, Anurag Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance and Home and 1990-batch IAS officer, today assumed “charge” as the new Chief Secretary till the “joining of Vivek Joshi in Haryana cadre upon his repatriation”.

Former Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad retired from service yesterday.

“Joshi is likely to assume charge of the top post by early next week,” sources said, adding that a top-level administrative reshuffle would be effected as the Haryana Government is yet to appoint the Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management, popularly called the Financial Commissioner Revenue (FCR) in view of the “seniority issues” among certain 1990-batch IAS officers.

The spotlight shifted to Joshi with the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) approving repatriation of the officer, who was posted as Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Public Grievances and Pensions, to his parent state of Haryana “on the request of the Government of Haryana” on October 26.

Joshi’s ‘ghar wapsi’ in Haryana five days before Prasad’s retirement was seen as a sign of his being elevated to the top post.

Interestingly, the orders to repatriate Joshi to Haryana by Manisha Saxena, Secretary of the ACC, came hours after Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on October 26.

The BJP government was keen to follow the ‘seniority principle’ for the appointment of the new Chief Secretary especially in view of the “seniority issues” among certain 1990-batch IAS officers.