Rajasthan chief secretary (CS) Usha Sharma and additional chief secretary (ACS) Veenu Gupta were given warm farewell today evening in the conference hall at secretariat. The farewell ceremony was organised by IAS Association in which additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, secretaries and officers of secretariat extended heartfelt wishes to the outgoing chief secretary.
CS Usha Sharma, who got six months extension on June 30, is finally retiring on December 31, 2023 while ACS Veenu Gupta, who was also scheduled to retire on December 31, had taken voluntary retirement early this month to join Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) as its chairperson.
Usha Sharma, a 1985 batch IAS officer, had assumed charge of chief secretary in January 31, 2022. She has replaced Niranjan Arya, who had contested assembly election on Congress ticket.
Her husband Badri Narain Sharma, also a 1985 batch IAS, is serving as chairman Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Authority (RERC) after retirement.
Will be remembered for e-filing
A proponent of administrative reforms, Sharma pushed the e- filing system in state governance. That not only brought transparency but also efficiency in the bureaucratic machinery. She also introduced periodic review of departments which used to keep all the department heads on toes.
A soft spoken but firm bureaucrat, Sharma has been a strict administrator. She has brought accountability to the bureaucracy. Her successor has not been finalised yet. However, the new chief secretary is likely to be finalised tomorrow as the chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma was Delhi to discuss his cabinet and team of key officials including CS and DG police with central leadership.
Sharma had served at centre also. Her two and half years stint as director general of archeological survey of Indian (ASI) was quite eventful. She was appreciated for the restoration of the Natamandap of Jagannath Temple in Odisha and the conservation of the Jagamohan of Sun Temple in Konark.
apartment for that she had worked in department like youth affairs, tourism and administrative reforms and public grievances.
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