Hours before the commencement of budget session, Rajasthan government has come up with a small transfer list of IAS officers. Six IAS officers have been transferred in this list.
The BuckStopper was the first to report that a small transfer list will come before budget followed by a mega list, which will have rejig in main portfolios including finance.
Sandeep Verma, who was working as additional chief secretary PWD has been shunted as chairman and managing director Rajasthan State Warehousing Corporation in place of Naveen Mahajan, who has been transferred as chief electoral officer, election department.
The transfer of Verma looked imminent as it is said than he was not able to get along well with the PWD minister and deputy chief minister Diya Kumari.
A 1993 batch officer Sandeepu Verma, has seen eight transfers in last four years with highest tenure of 15 months as chairman and managing director Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC).
Verma an LLM from USA and M.Tech in radar and communication engineering is considered the brightest scholar among fellow IAS officers. His articles and research papers have found place in world's leading publications.
Verma may have hogged limelight for reconstructing his chamber combining two rooms, but the occupant of that chamber is another IAS, who is a batch junior to him. Sandeep sits in the room vacated by Shikhar Agrawal and where Subodh Agrawal used to sit before that.
“We were expecting him to continue with good posting he had been able to get. But again he has been shunted after a brief period,” said a senior IAS officer.
Praveen Gupta, who has recently conducted free and fair elections in Rajasthan as CEO, has been posted as principal secretary PWD. Gupta, also from Lucknow like Sandeep Verma, will have a challenging task ahead. An efficient officer, Praveen Gupta has the ability of fast disposal and quick decision making. In past he had been collector of districts like Jaipur, Jhalawar and Bharatpur before handling finance department as revenue secretary.
Rohit Gupta, who has come back after 10-month leave, has been posted as commissioner industries and commissioner Bureau of Investment Promotion (BIP) replacing Himanshu Gupta, who has been shunted to managing director Rural Nonfarm Development Agency (RUDA).
The posting of Rohit Gupta, who is among brightest officers, is significant in view of investment summit being planned for the year end. The role of BIP is important in holding that mega summit. Before going on leave in August 2023, Rohit Gupta was handing the portfolio of secretary finance (budget).
Prakash Chandra Sharma, who was serving as executive director RUDSICO and project director RUIDP, has been posted as office on special duty (OSD) to chief minister.
A 2010 batch IAS, promoted from state civil services, Sharma has left with a year-long service before retirement. He had been collector of districts like Banswara and Pratapgarh and was joint secretary to chief minister during the second tenure of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. He is considered an efficient officer with good ground knowledge.
Prakash Bhandari is a veteran journalist with over 50 years of experience. He has worked with The Times of India for 30 years and contributed to leading publications as well as international news agency AFP.
