By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 7 Mar: Senior IAS officer of 1992 cadre, Anand Bardhan has been empanelled for a Central Deputation as Secretary in the Union Government. This empanelment has sparked speculation in the state bureaucracy as to who will succeed the current Chief Secretary, Radha Raturi, in Uttarakhand. The current Chief Secretary is already on her second extension and is set to retire at the end of this month. Meanwhile, after her, the senior most IAS officer Anand Bardhan is a 1992 batch IAS officer and is currently posted as Additional Chief Secretary. At present, he is the only IAS officer who holds eligibility in terms of having put in a minimum numbers of years in service to be promoted as Chief Secretary. RK Sudhanshu, who currently is posted as Principal Secretary, is a 1997 batch IAS officer of Uttarakhand Cadre. However, currently he does not hold eligibility of having put in 30 years of service as IAS officer to be promoted as Chief Secretary.
Even as Radha Raturi is about to complete her extension this month, the state bureaucracy is rife with speculation about who will now follow her as the next Chief Secretary.
Radha Raturi has a close bonding with Chief Secretary Pushkar Singh Dhami and has a very clean record of service. Hence, some bureaucrats believe that she might get another extension of 6 months. For this, the Centre will have to grant sanction for extension and repeated extensions are generally not cleared by the Centre. At the same time, it has been claimed by a section of the bureaucracy that Radha Raturi has also applied for the post of Chief Information Commissioner which is lying vacant for a significant period of time now.
In case Radha Raturi is not granted an extension, Anand Bardhan being the seniormost and the only eligible officer was being considered as the most likely successor. While he continues to be the most eligible candidate for the top administrative post in the state, his central empanelment as Secretary to Government of India comes at a time which has sparked speculation whether he will go to the Centre or will prefer to remain in the state and be promoted as Chief Secretary. Generally, the bureaucrats prefer to be promoted as Chief Secretary to being appointed as Secretary to the Union Government, as it is very high profile post.
It therefore remains to be seen, what transpires at the end of this month and whether Radha Raturi is granted another extension, or will Anand Bardhan be promoted, or someone else will be promoted by relaxing rules. It is also believed that the personal equation of the officers with the Chief Minister also plays a vital role for posting as a Chief Secretary, though in Uttarakhand which has a relatively smaller cadre of IAS officers, it is not always an easy option to choose someone based on personal rapport with the officers.
CS Radha Raturi on leave, Anand Bardhan to officiate
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 7 Mar: Chief Secretary Radha Raturi will be on leave from 8 to 16 March, formally approved by the state government.
During her absence, Additional Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan will oversee the responsibilities of the Chief Secretary as the interim in-charge. Radha Raturi’s leave comes at a time when the speculation is rife over her successor as Chief Secretary. Bardhan who is Additional Chief Secretary at present is being seen as the natural successor to her, but he has also been empanelled as Secretary in the Union Government and hence the speculation. Raturi is set to retire at the end of this month as her second extension also comes to an end on 31 March.
