Abhay Kumar: Managing multiple crucial roles in Rajasthan’s administration
Jaipur: Additional Chief Secretary Abhay Kumar (1992 Batch IAS) is currently carrying a heavy load of responsibilities. In addition to his primary position in the Water Resources Department, he is managing three additional crucial roles.
Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant is currently in Delhi for the CS Conference. Pant has entrusted Abhay Kumar with the responsibility of his position. Senior-most IAS officer of the 1988 batch, Subodh Agrawal, is on an extended leave. The Department of Personnel (DOP) has also assigned Abhay Kumar the additional charge of Director General of the Indira Gandhi Panchayati Raj Institute. More importantly, Abhay Kumar is the ‘Nodal Officer’ for all events and programs celebrating one year of the Bhajan Lal government. Additionally, he is overseeing the ERCP project.
Preparations for the government’s first anniversary celebrations have been underway for a month, with events scheduled from December 12 to 17, culminating in Prime Minister Modi’s visit on December 17. For the past month, Abhay Kumar has been diligently working on guiding, directing, coordinating, and supervising the efforts of various departments. He has held extensive meetings with departments over the past month. On Friday, he conducted marathon meetings with the Principal Secretary of Food and Civil Supply, the Commissioner of Jaipur Development Authority (JDA), the Secretary of Transport, the Jaipur Police Commissioner, as well as all Divisional Commissioners and Collectors.
While the responsibility for the Dec 17 PM event and related arrangements lies with PWD & Secretary of the dept Praveen Gupta, who has officially been appointed as an additional Nodal Officer for anniversary celebrations, the overall responsibility remains with Abhay Kumar. On December 12, the event in Jodhpur was efficiently handled by DOP Secretary KK Pathak, and the December 13 Farmers’ Conference was successfully managed by Agriculture Secretary Rajan Vishal.
The December 14 Women’s Conference is under Sreya Guha, while Kuldeep Ranka will manage the Antyodaya event on December 15. The exhibition on the same day will be overseen by Alok Gupta. Transport Secretary and Commissioner Shuchi Tyagi is managing logistics for three lakh attendees at PM Modi’s December 17 event. Since Special Secretary Anupma Jorwal is on training leave, Bhawani Detha is handling the additional charge of the Planning Department, further increasing his responsibilities.
While CS Sudhansh Pant provides overall guidance, Abhay Kumar is managing day-to-day operations. With over 32 years of experience, Kumar has held key positions in multiple departments. His competence, hard work, and leadership have earned him the trust of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, who appointed him as the ‘Nodal Officer’ for the one-year celebrations. Following the success of ‘Rising Rajasthan’, the one-year celebration is expected to be grand.
