Reshuffle in CMO 'restores' principal secretary's powers

Pradeep Sharma

Chandigarh, February 22

A major reshuffle in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has restored powers of the Principal Secretary to Chief Minister (PSCM) V Umashankar, with the officer getting the lion’s share of the departments.

Power politics

• V Umashankar to head 16 departments.
• Yoginder Chaudhary loses 4 departments, DS Dhesi, Amit Aggarwal and Ashima Brar 2 departments each.
• HCS officer Sudhanshu Gautam gets more depts.

Umashankar has added nearly 10 more departments, including finance, power, agriculture, tourism and social justice and empowerment, in his kitty, taking departments under his jurisdiction to 16. He would also head electronics and information technology, cooperation, labour and employment, welfare of SCs and BCs, skill development and industrial training, aviation, renewable energy, transport and mines and geology.

IRS officer Yogender Chaudhary, Adviser for Resource Mobilisation, has been the major loser losing four departments to Umashankar while DS Dhesi, Chief Principal Secretary to CM (CPSCM), Additional Principal Secretary to CM Amit Aggarwal, and Deputy Principal Secretary Ashima Brar are poorer by two departments each.

Earlier, Dhesi was virtually the “super boss” in the CMO heading 13 departments. Now, he has 11 departments, though he would continue to be the overall charge of the CMO.

Dhesi will continue to be in charge of the legislative proposals that are to be brought before the Council of Ministers, parliamentary affairs, law and legislative, excise and taxation, irrigation, general administration, vigilance, home, town and country planning, urban local bodies, foreign cooperation, industries and citizen resource information. Finance and electronics and information technology have been taken from Dhesi and handed over Umashankar.

The Additional Principal Secretary to CM Amit Aggarwal will look after the departments of health and medical education, higher education, school education, technical education, development and panchayats, forests and wildlife, while labour and employment and power have been given to Umashankar.

Ashima Brar earlier held architecture, archaeology, elections, environment, food and supplies, fisheries , housing, public health engineering, printing and stationery, sports and youth affairs, women and child development, public work department, sainik and ardh sainik welfare and agriculture and cooperation. Now agriculture and cooperation will vest in the PSCM.

Chaudhary will now look after art and culture, besides being project director of the drug-free Haryana mission, matters relating to resource mobilisation, NRHM and Youth Empowerment, besides being project director of the drug-free Haryana mission,

HCS officer Sudhanshu Gautam, OSD to CM, will look after CM announcements, CM Relief Fund, Haryana Rural Development Fund (HRDF) and Wakf, online transfer policy and allotment of government houses.

Neeraj Daftaur, the principal OSD to CM, will continue to look after public relations, and Bhupeshwar Dayal will continue to look after grievances and CM Window.