Jaipur: In a significant moment for the state’s IAS cadre, three officers from the 1995 batch – Ashwini Bhagat, Kunji Lal Meena, and Rajeev Singh Thakur – were promoted to the esteemed position of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), a decision made possible through the intervention of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal. The officers had been waiting for 35 days, and despite initial delays and challenges in the process, their patience was finally rewarded.
This promotion follows the earlier elevation of two senior officers from the same batch, Praveen Gupta and Bhaskar Sawant, who were promoted to ACS on January 1, 2025. However, the remaining officers’ promotions were delayed due to a regulatory cap on the number of ACS positions in the state, with only 14 spots available. At the time, the top level already had 12 officers holding the position, making it impossible for the remaining three officers to be promoted under the existing rules.
As per a report by the media reports in Decmeber, 2024, it was clarified that only two senior officers from the batch could be promoted under the current regulations, with the others unable to join the ranks of ACS. The report also noted that, in previous years, governments had overlooked these restrictions, promoting large numbers of officers to ACS despite the limitations. In 2017, for example, 20 officers were promoted to ACS, and 23 officers received the promotion in 2018. However, this time, the Department of Personnel (DoP) adhered strictly to the rules, resulting in a delay for the remaining three officers.
In response, Kunji Lal Meena, the leader of the three officers, met with Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant several times to appeal for a solution. After weeks of waiting, the Chief Minister’s compassionate intervention led to the much-anticipated promotions, bringing much-needed relief to the officers and the bureaucratic community at large.
The move has been widely lauded not only by the three promoted officers but also by others in the bureaucracy, including IAS officers Ajitabh Sharma, Alok Gupta, Dinesh Kumar, and Rajesh Yadav, who are set to be promoted to ACS in January 2026. This decision has paved the way for their future promotions as well, earning praise for the Chief Minister’s leadership and empathy.
