JAMMU, 25-December ÷ Eighteen senior officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS), holding the ranks of Secretary and above, are due to retire in the next one year, reducing further the number of IAS officers which is currently 83 against the sanctioned strength of 137 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Chief Secretary B.B. Vyas, IAS-1986, who has reached superannuation on November 30, 2017, continues to be in service as the Government of India on special recommendations of the J&K Government, has granted extension of three months in his favour.
If sources in the Union Department of Personnel and Training are to be believed, Vyas could be granted another extension of three months for his commitment and effective operation of Prime Minister’s Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir.
Number of IAS officers in J&K cadre, which is currently 83 against sanctioned strength of 137, would fall further to 71 but increase marginally with repatriation of some officers from Central deputation
Senior KAS officers Manesha Devi Sharma (Commissioner-Secretary Ladakh Affairs) and Reeva Gupta (Registrar J&K Special Tribunal are retiring from Service on December 31, 2017.
Pramod Kumar Jain, IAS-1985, Chairman State Water Resources Regulatory Authority, is retiring on January 31, 2018. Anal Kumar Gupta, IAS-2001 (Commissioner-Secretary Administrative Reforms, Inspections and Training), Dilshad Khan, IAS-2002 (Commissioner-Secretary Culture), Shafiq Ahmad Raina, IAS-2002 (Commissioner-Secretary Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, IAS-2005 (Secretary Cooperative Department), and Rafiq Ahmad Hakeem, KAS (Secretary in RDD&PR), are also retiring from service on January 31, 2018.
Nirmal Sharma, IAS-2001 (Commissioner-Secretary Rural Development Department and Panchayati Raj), Parvaiz Iqbal Khateeb, IAS-2009 (Commissioner Commercial Taxes) and Arun Kumar Sharma, KAS (Commissioner Enquiries) are scheduled to retire on February 28, 2018.
Mohammad Afzal Bhat, KAS officer of 1984 batch, who was inducted into IAS in the year 2000, is reaching superannuation on March 31, 2018. Sajjad Ahmad Khan, IAS-2005 (Commissioner-Secretary Social Welfare Department) and Showkat Ahmad Beg, KAS (Secretary in Agriculture Production Department) are due to retire on April 30, 2018.
Kifayat Hussain Rizvi, IAS-2002 (Commissioner-Secretary labour and Employment Department, is completing his service career on June 30, 2018.
Hemant Kumar Sharma, IAS-2002 (Commissioner-Secretary Transport, also holding additional charge of Secretary Science and Technology Department) is retiring from service on July 31, 2018, while as Raj Kumar Bhagat, IAS-2001 (Commissioner-Secretary Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department) is due to retire on September 30, 2018.
Superannuation of as many as 12 senior IAS officers in the next 9 months will bring down total number of IAS officers in J&K cadre from existing 83 to 71.
Total strength of IAS in J&K cadre is currently 137. With retirement of 12 IAS officers, shortfall of IAS officers in J&K will rise from existing 54 to 66. However, it is likely to reduce to around 60 with the J&K State getting some quota from fresh IAS and some officers of prolonged central deputation like Atal Dulloo and Sudhanshu Pandey returning from New Delhi to their home State.
Even among the 83 IAS officers available, as many as 12 are currently on Central deputation. They include B.R. Sharma, Suresh Kumar, P.K. Tripathi, Sudhanshu Pandey, Sundeep Kumar Nayak, Arun Kumar Mehta, Atal Dulloo, Shantmanu, Bipul Pathak, Ashok Kumar Parmar, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi and Mandeep Kaur.
One IAS officer, namely P.K. Pole, is in his home State of Maharashtra on inter-cadre deputation. Besides one IAS officer, Niraj Kumar, stands attached to office of Divisional Commissioner of Jammu. Both these IAS officers had been removed as DC Udhampur after landing in controversies.
Even after K.B. Agarw hal’s return from New Delhi with his recent posting as Financial Commissioner Power Development Department, Principal Resident.
Commissioner’s office in new Delhi has two IAS officers of J&K cadre, namely Dheeraj Gupta and Yasha Mudgal, attached posted there without any work.