Discrepancies galore plague the list, correction imminent

Jaipur: There are many discrepancies and unusual things have been seen in the jumbo transfer list of IAS officers released on Friday. Experts of governance have done its postmortem.

The post of Secretary Planning is considered very important in the Secretariat. In a way, it is an extension of the Chief Secretary’s Office. The views and directions of CS have been executed through this post. The Planning Department is considered the “think tank” of the entire government. Its head has been a senior officer of the Secretary level. In such a situation, the justification of appointing Anupama Jorwal, a relatively junior officer of the 2011 batch, as Special Secretary is beyond comprehension.

The posting of Bhagwati Prasad Kalaal on the post of MD of RSMM is necessary and correct, but for this, his transfer from Director Mines and leaving the post of Director vacant is also beyond comprehension. The post of Director is very important.

Peeyush Samariya (2014 batch) has been appointed as the Commissioner of Jodhpur Municipal Corporation, while Gaurav Agrawal of his batch is the Jodhpur Collector. This is an administrative anomaly.

Arvind Kumar Poswal is now the only collector left who was appointed by the previous government. He was appointed Udaipur Collector in July 2023. His change was considered certain, but his continuing as it is in Udaipur is a matter of discussion.

It is noteworthy that Nishant Jain (2015 batch) was removed from the post of Barmer Collector in just 6 months. Such a short tenure is not considered right for a collector. It remains to be seen whether he, as Secretary in JDA, will be able to keep pace with a hard task master commissioner like Anandhi.

Tina Dabi (2016 batch) has been made the collector of a big district like Barmer. While her husband Pradeep Gawande (2013 batch), senior to her, has been given the command of a relatively small district like Jalore.

Making IAS officer Hari Mohan Meena (2011 batch), who has been the collector of big districts like Jhalawar and Kota, the collector of a very small district like Deeg is a matter of discussion. Similarly, the appointment of Ashish Modi (2014 batch), who has been the collector of Jaisalmer and Bharatpur, as the collector of Churu is also a similar case.

The Chief Secretary’s displeasure with the work of Alwar Collector Ashish Gupta and Jalore Collector Pooja Parth was visible in a VC. In such a situation, removal was certain, but handing over the command of an important district like Alwar to Artika Shukla (2016 batch) on the recommendation of a minister is a matter of discussion.

Administrative experts believe that handing over the additional charge of DC of two divisions - Udaipur and Banswara - to TAD Commissioner Udaipur Pragya Kewalramani is unjustified. This has lowered the dignity & prestige of the post of DC.

Mukul Sharma (2013 batch) was posted in the collector’s transfer list twice before by the same government. But he did not leave the secretariat and go to join the district. Finally, now he has been made the collector of Sikar.

Instead of giving the traditional posting of SDM in districts, 10 new IAS officers of 2022 batch have been made OSD in the Industries Department. Now they will have to work in Jaipur till ‘Rising Rajasthan’ summit in December. But the post of OSD is neither defined nor scheduled. It remains to be seen what and what kind of work is expected from these new young IAS officers as OSD.