Anurag Verma assumes charge as Punjab Chief Secretary

Chandigarh, July 1

Anurag Verma, a 1993 batch IAS officer, today took charge as the 42nd Chief Secretary of the state in the presence of outgoing Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua and other senior civil officers.

Upon assuming charge, Verma said that he would strive to give a clean, corruption-free, responsive and transparent administration.

“Punjab has an excellent team of officers and I will take everyone along as the government rings in its development agenda, especially in the fields of agriculture, education and health,” he said, adding that over the next three days, he would be holding meetings with all administrative secretaries of various departments on the issues faced by them.

The Chief Secretary said that he would also focus on quick resolution of all outstanding issues with the Centre, including release of Rural Development fund and also a bid made by a neighbouring state staking its claim over Chandigarh. “Punjab being a border state and food bowl of India assumes significance and I will try and resolve these inter-state and state- Centre issues expeditiously,”

he said.

Verma said that the major thrust would be on implementing the state government’s citizen-centric and development-oriented policies with feedback from the ground. A viable mechanism will be evolved for quick resolution of public grievances, he said.