Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government has ordered a major administrative reshuffle involving 17 IAS officers, changing appointments across district administrations, state departments and government institutions.
The General Administration Department (GAD) issued the transfer orders on Friday, October 23, 2026. The changes include new Collectors for Mehsana, Anand and Vav-Tharad, along with appointments in the Information, Rural Development, Industries and Mines, and Sports sectors.
Among the key appointments, Harshit Pruthwiraj Gosavi, a 2013-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, has been appointed Collector of Mehsana. Utsav Gautam, a 2018-batch IAS officer, has been appointed Collector of Anand, while M.J. Dave, previously District Development Officer (DDO) of Banaskantha, will take charge as Collector of Vav-Tharad.
Harshit Gosavi Appointed Mehsana Collector
Harshit Pruthwiraj Gosavi, a 2013-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, who was serving as Additional Secretary in the Home Department with responsibility for Law and Order, will replace S.K. Prajapati as Mehsana Collector.
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Prajapati has been transferred as Additional Rural Development Commissioner in Gandhinagar. The appointment places Gosavi at the head of Mehsana’s district administration.
Utsav Gautam Named Anand Collector; Praveen Chaudhary Gets SIR Assignment
Utsav Gautam, a 2018-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, who was serving as DDO of Kutch-Bhuj, has been appointed Collector of Anand.
The outgoing Anand Collector, Praveen Chaudhary (IAS: 2014: GJ), has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the special project covering the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) and Mandal-Becharaji SIR under the Industries and Mines Department.
M.J. Dave Appointed Vav-Tharad Collector
The reshuffle also changes the leadership of Vav-Tharad district.
M.J. Dave (IAS: 2014: GJ), who was serving as DDO of Banaskantha-Palanpur, has been appointed Collector of Vav-Tharad, relieving Kalpesh Kumar Sharma of the additional charge.
Ram Niwas Bugalia, previously DDO of Tapi, will replace Dave as DDO of Banaskantha-Palanpur.
G.T. Pandya Appointed Director of Information
Several senior departmental assignments have also been revised.
- G.T. Pandya (IAS: 2011: GJ): Transferred from the Education Department, where he was Additional Secretary, to become Director of Information.
- Alok Kumar Pandey (IAS: 2006: GJ): Secretary of the Tribal Development Department; given additional charge as Commissioner of Relief.
- Gaurang Makwana (IAS: 2012: GJ): Managing Director of Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Ltd; given additional charge as Managing Director of iNDEXTb.
- C.C. Kotak (IAS: 2018: GJ): Deputy Director General of the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA); appointed Special Director of the State Institute of Rural Development.
- B.N. Patel: Appointed Director General of the Sports Authority of Gujarat.
Changes in District Development Officer Postings
The government has also reassigned several District Development Officers and tribal-area project administrators.
- Ram Niwas Bugalia (IAS: 2019: GJ): DDO, Banaskantha-Palanpur
- Atirag Chaplot (IAS: 2019: GJ): DDO, Kutch-Bhuj
- Vandana Meena (IAS: 2022: GJ): DDO, Valsad
- Rajesh Kumar Mourya (IAS: 2022: GJ): DDO, Amreli
- Swapnil Mahadeo Sisle: DDO, Tapi
- Omkar Rajendra Shinde (IAS: 2022: GJ): DDO, Chhota Udepur
- Sachin Kumar (IAS: 2019: GJ): Deputy Secretary, Home Department
Chaplot was previously DDO of Valsad, while Meena was Project Administrator under the Tribal Area Sub-Plan in Mahisagar. Mourya and Sisle were serving as project administrators under the Tribal Area Sub-Plan in Tapi and Navsari, respectively. Shinde was serving as project administrator in Chhota Udepur.
The reshuffle changes assignments across district administration and several state departments. The new postings were notified by the Gujarat government’s General Administration Department.
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