With a dozen vacant posts, all eyes awaiting IAS transfer list!

Jaipur: Another senior IAS - Ujjwal Rathore of 2008 batch - retired on March 31, from the post of Secretary, JDA. With this new vacancy, now a total of one dozen posts for senior IAS are lying vacant in the state and their additional charge is being carried out by other officers.

These posts are Secretary Water Resources, Secretary Education, Secretary Animal Husbandry, Secretary WCD, Secretary Plan, DG HCM-RIPA, DG Panchayati Raj Sansthan, Registrar Cooperative and Divisional Commissioner Kota. Apart from thi, two posts are vacant on IAS members in Revenue Board. Notably, some of these posts are vacant from six months to a year! This means that the transfer list of IAS is overdue.

In reality, jumbo transfer lists of IPS, IFS and RAS were released during the Assembly session but the IAS transfer list is still awaited.

There is no denying the fact that compared to other services, the transfer list of IAS not only important, but also a troublesome work for the DoP. Add to that the drought of IAs officers at senior level and as a result the permutation and combination to ‘fit’ senior officials in important positions, is an added challenge. One of the reason for this ‘drought’ is the central deputation of one dozen IAS.

It has come to light that a Secretary of a major and important department can be changed owing to poor performance while another official can be changed for their ‘over performance’! Such is the disgruntlement against the poorly performing Secretary that the official has been completely sidelined. While the over performing Secretary has courted controversy.

About half a dozen senior IAS do not have workload according to their capacity. Word is that these officials can be brought in main stream, because there is not enough time left to bring CM Ashok Gehlot’s flagship schemes to ground. In such a situation, the IAS with less workload can be given work of those officials who are currently holding additional charge. Notably, the IAS who have less workload as of now, are all senior officials.

It has also come to light RSRTC MD NAthmal Didel and RSMM MD Karan Singh have suo-moto requested for their transfer, whereas 2005 batch IAs Punam, is currently on APO having returned from Bihar.

According to sources, the situation regarding Collectors is not clear as of now, as to will they be shuffled right now or with posting of Collectors in new districts. As such Tonk Collector Chinmayee Gopal and Barmer Collector Lok Bandhu have stayed on the position for two years and 18 Collectors have spent more than a year on their current assignment and thus, a change is necesary due to various reasons.

Therefore, the entire IAS lobby is eagerly awaiting the transfer list.