The Punjab government has called back its senior IAS officer V K Singh from central deputation. He is likely to be appointed as special secretary to chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
The post has been vacant since July this year when A Venu Prasad retired as additional chief secretary to CM.
The 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service officer, had gone on deputation to the centre in October 2017. There he served as joint secretary in department of personnel and training and then special secretary in ministry of textile followed by becoming secretary in department of Ex-Servicemen welfare. He was quite effective in that role.
He had extensive interactions with serving as well as retired Armed Forces personnel during his career in Punjab.
Singh can't be taken in secretariat
The chief secretary Anurag Verma is a 1993 batch officer, three years junior to Singh, who now can't be made to work under Verma as per the norms generally followed in bureaucracy.
“So Singh has to be posted outside the secretariat and the vacant post of special secretary to CM is an ideal placement for a senior officer like him,” said a senior IAS officer.
Who is V K Singh
A native of Bihar, Singh is considered an upright officer with good track record. In absence senior officer, Punjab administration needed services of officer like V K Singh and he was called back. He is due to superannuate in November 2024.
Apart from V K Singh, many senior officers from Punjab cadre are also on central deputation. These include Vini Mahajan (1987 batch), who retires on October 31, 2024; Anjali Bhawra (1988 batch), who will retire on June 30, 2024; and Seema Jain (1991 batch), who will superannuate in December 2026. Anurag Agarwal, who went on central deputation in last month, will retire in March 2026.
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