Meet Dheeraj Gupta and different final survivors of J&Ok’s revolving door paperwork – The Dispatch

In contrast to the often reshuffled IAS officers, their JKAS counterparts have seen higher stability of postings these years. Of the 100 senior-most JKAS officers, as many as 38 are holding their present postings for practically or little greater than two years, 12 for practically three years and eight officers have been within the present workplaces for near greater than 4 years.  

Jammu: Dheeraj Gupta, an IITian and naturally a bureaucrat of ‘engineering temperaments’, who completes thirty years in Indian Administrative Service this 12 months has on at the present time -January 30, 2023 -reached a novel achievement in Jammu and Kashmir, the erstwhile state of his erstwhile cadre.

Within the superior paperwork of Jammu and Kashmir, Gupta is probably the final persevering with hyperlink between the State and Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir who has seen the monumental transition from one place -the window of his workplace on second ground of Civil Secretariat in Jammu whilst he’s believed to be the one officer who spends equal time in Srinagar regardless of Darbar Transfer being referred to as off.

Because the fall of Mehbooba Mufti authorities on June 19, 2018, Jammu and Kashmir has seen modifications in any respect ranges of administration at an industrial scale. With two Governors and two Lieutenant Governors altering the highest govt command in a brief span of 56 months, transfers on the senior bureaucratic degree have been rampant. Those that had been there on the helm in final levels of the State are nowhere to be seen now because the Union Territory takes roots.

Nonetheless, a handful of officers have loved the distinctive privilege of extraordinary stability, and Dheeraj Gupta is one amongst them.

Precisely 4 years in the past, on January 30, 2019, when the Basic Administration Division issued orders of posting of 1993 batch IAS officer, Dheeraj Gupta, as Principal Secretary within the Division of Housing and City Growth, Jammu and Kashmir was a State underneath govt and constitutional headship of Satya Pal Malik as Governor.

Few months later, the State was damaged down into two entities, and downgraded to Union Territory, the Governor’s place was changed by the Lieutenant Governor, the primary was changed by one other in 9 months. These 4 years have seen the paperwork going via a revolving door, however a number of, together with Gupta, have stayed on having fun with belief all setups.

In January 2019, the opposite key positions in high paperwork had been held within the following order: B.V.R. Subrahmanyam because the Chief Secretary, Umang Narula as Principal Secretary to the Governor, Navin Chowdhay as Principal Secretary in Finance Division, R.Ok. Goyal as Principal Secretary Residence Division, Shaleen Kabra as Principal Secretary Industries and Commerce Division, Pawan Kotwal as Monetary Commissioner Income, Hilal Ahmed Parray was the Secretary in Basic Administration Division and Shailendra Kumar was the Chief Electoral Officer.

Here’s a take a look at every of the above, since 2019: B.V.R. was moved to the Heart in Could 2021 and retired as Secretary Commerce in September 2022; Umang Narula was posted out to Ladakh in October 2019; Navin Chowdhary, at present underneath orders of switch to Mizoram since Could 2022, was changed by Arun Mehta as Principal Secretary Finance who was subsequently changed at Atal Dulloo who was changed by Vivek Bharadwaj in August 2021, and the cost is now again with Mehta who can also be the Chief Secretary; Goyal was changed by Shaleen Kabra who presided the Residence Division for 3 years earlier than being once more succeeded by Goyal in February 2022; from Shaleen Kabra the Industries and Commerce Division went to Manoj Dwivedi, then Ranjan Prakash Thakur, then Vivek Bharadwaj and at present with Prashant Goyal; Pawan Kotwal was posted out to Ladakh in March 2021; the GAD has fourth Secretary since Hilal Parray and the Election Fee is headless after pathbreaking train of delimitation.

Whilst transfers and postings are a traditional administrative exigencies which all senior officers settle for with grace and dignity as a part of their profession life, in previous 5 years Jammu and Kashmir has seen unprecedented reshuffles surpassing the even coalition norms since 2002.

Whereas quite a few senior officers departed from the unique cadre in quite a few instructions, comparable to Central deputation, UT of Ladakh and different AGMUT postings, solely seven of the 20 senior-most IAS officers have gotten to remain on in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019. These officers are: Arun Kumar Mehta, Atal Dulloo, Shaleen Kabra, Dheeraj Gupta, Asghar Samoon, Sarita Chauhan and Sanjeev Verma.

Apparently, on this Dheeraj Gupta registers the uncommon distinction of being the one one amongst all 78 IAS officers to have been in the identical division and similar place for 4 years -Principal Secretary, Housing and City Growth Division since January 30, 2019.

Colleagues who’ve labored carefully with Gupta describe him as a politically disconnected workaholic skilled who retains deeply absorbed in his departmental affairs. With Sensible Metropolis and quite a few different rejuvenation, mobility and infrastructure tasks underneath manner shaking up the conventional to construct new and trendy city atmosphere, Gupta, his colleagues declare, listens to the guests politely however makes however makes his subordinates to take heed to him rigorously.

As Gupta holds the uncommon distinction of holding a single division for 4 years whereas Jammu and Kashmir went via historic constitutional, political and administration transition, there are a selection of officers in J&Ok Administrative Service who’ve been holding on the present positions for much more years.

Anoo Malhotra, at present the Director Basic, Industries and Commerce Division in Jammu has been holding the workplace since December 2018. She was just lately elevated to DG however retained on the similar put up. She was earlier within the Finance Division. Malhotra enjoys the fame of administrator, significantly in her dealings with the enterprise group.

KAS officers Sheikh Fayyaz Ahmed, the Commissioner and Secretary in Floriculture Division is holding workplace since July 2019, and equally, Manzoor Ahmed is Director Basic, Sericulture, since October 2019, whereas Pawan Singh Rathore is Particular Secretary in Hospital and Protocol Division since December 2019:

Labour Commissioner Abdul Rashid Battle and Director Floriculture, Kashmir, Farooq Ahmed Moderately are amongst quite a few JKAS officers who’ve been holding workplaces for near 4 years.

Uncommon of the rarest: Mukhtar Ahmed, a KAS officer of 1999 batch, has this month accomplished seven years on the similar put up. He was posted Secretary to the Gujjar and Bakerwal Advisor Board in January 2016. The Board ceased to exist with the constitutional transition of August 2019, however Ahmed continued to be in the identical put up. Even because the Authorities has not introduced abolition of the Board however the identical has not been purposeful since 2019.

In contrast to the often reshuffled IAS officers, their JKAS counterparts have seen higher stability of postings these years. Of the 100 senior-most JKAS officers, as many as 38 are holding their present postings for practically or little greater than two years, 12 for practically three years and eight officers have been within the present workplaces for near greater than 4 years.