Jaipur: The Rajasthan government carried out a major administrative reshuffle late Monday night, transferring 26 IAS officers and 53 Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) officers) ahead of the upcoming urban local body elections.
The reshuffle comes just before the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the civic polls is expected to come into force. The transfers follow directions from the State Election Commission, which had asked the government to shift officers who had completed three years or more at the same place of posting.
Alongside the transfer of serving IAS and RAS officers, the government has also posted 14 trainee IAS officers as Officers on Special Duty (OSDs) in the offices of District Election Officers across various districts to assist with election-related preparations.
The Department of Personnel issued the transfer orders late Monday night, bringing changes across district administration, development authorities, state departments and election-related assignments.
14 Trainee IAS Officers Posted as OSDs in District Election Offices
As part of the preparations for the upcoming local body elections, 14 trainee IAS officers have been posted as OSDs in the offices of District Election Officers.
The officers and their respective assignments include:
- Aditi Varshney – Alwar
- Srishti Dabas – Kota
- Aishwaryam Prajapati – Khairthal-Tijara
- Medha Anand – Bhilwara
- Swati Sharma – Bikaner
- Rajput Neha Uddhavsingh – Ajmer
- Mohan Lal – Jodhpur
- Ravindra Kumar Meghwal – Chittorgarh
- Choudhary Birju Gopal – Pali
- Aditi Yadav – Udaipur
- Mrinal Kumar – Jaipur
- Aradhana Chauhan – Sri Ganganagar
- Rohit Verma – Jaisalmer
- Bhanu Sharma – Bharatpur
Their postings are intended to strengthen administrative arrangements and support District Election Officers in preparations for the civic elections.
Six IAS Officers Awaiting Posting Get New Assignments
The latest order has also given fresh responsibilities to IAS officers who were awaiting posting orders, commonly referred to as APO (Awaiting Posting Orders).
Lalit Goyal has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Public Works Department, while Abhishek Jain has been posted as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sri Ganganagar Zila Parishad.
Pritam Kumar has been appointed CEO of the Udaipur Zila Parishad, while Saksham Goyal has been posted as Joint Secretary in the Public Health Engineering Department.
Bhaisare Shubham Ashok has been appointed CEO of the Jaipur Zila Parishad/MADA, while Pratibha Dahiya has been posted as CEO of the Karauli Zila Parishad/MADA.
Major Changes in Development Authorities
The reshuffle has also brought significant changes in the leadership of various development authorities and urban bodies.
The Commissioners of the Bikaner Development Authority and Ajmer Development Authority have been changed.
Dhaigude Snehal Nana, who was serving as Secretary of the Alwar Urban Improvement Trust (UIT), has been appointed Commissioner of the Bikaner Development Authority.
Nitya K., who was associated with the Ajmer Development Authority, has been posted as Joint Secretary in the Energy Department. Rashmi Rani has been appointed Commissioner of the Ajmer Development Authority.
Other important assignments include Utsah Chaudhary as Joint Secretary in the Disaster Management Department, Jaipur, and Shilpa Singh as Joint Secretary in the Planning Department, Jaipur.
Girdhar has been appointed CEO of the Bhiwadi-related development authority assignment and has also been given responsibility as CEO of the Neemrana Investment Region Regional Development Authority in Khairthal-Tijara.
More IAS Officers Get Field and Departmental Responsibilities
The transfer list includes several other significant appointments.
Pratibha Verma has been posted as Director, Medical IEC Department, Jaipur, while Gaurav Budhania has been appointed Commissioner of the Ajmer Municipal Corporation.
Avhad Nivrutti Somnath has been given the responsibility of Additional CEO of the Rajasthan Institute for Transportation and Innovation, Jaipur. Salunkhe Gaurav Ravindra has been posted as Secretary of the Urban Improvement Trust, Bhilwara.
Yash Chaudhary has been appointed CEO of MADA, Alwar, while Yatharth Shekhar has been posted as CEO of MADA, Jaisalmer.
Dr. Anshu Priya has been appointed Registrar of Sardar Patel Police University, Jodhpur.
Other appointments include Shraddha Gome as CEO of MADA, Alwar; Mohit Kasnia as CEO of MADA, Sawai Madhopur; Sonika Kumari as Additional Commissioner, Commercial Taxes Department, Jaipur; Shreshtha Shree as CEO of MADA, Dholpur; and Charu as CEO of MADA, Bundi.
At the field level, Rahul Srivastava has been posted as SDM, Mount Abu, while Sonu Kumari has been appointed SDM, Jhalawar. Rahul Srivastava will also hold the additional charge of Secretary, UIT, Mount Abu.
RAS Reshuffle: 53 Officers Transferred
The government has simultaneously transferred 53 RAS officers, including eight Additional District Collectors and 36 Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs).
Among the prominent appointments, Kalu Ram, who was earlier awaiting posting, has been appointed Registrar of Rajasthan University, Jaipur.
Kailash Chand Sharma has been appointed Secretary of the Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan, Ajmer.
At the district level, Rajesh Joshi has been posted as Additional District Collector and Additional District Magistrate (ADC & ADM), Kota, while Anil Kumar has been appointed ADC & ADM, Sikar.
Jagdish Prasad Gaur has been posted as ADC & ADM, Karauli, and Yogesh Kumar Dagur as ADC & ADM, Alwar.
Ashwin K. Panwar has been appointed Additional District Collector (Vigilance), Sri Ganganagar, while Lakhan Singh Gurjar has been posted as Additional District Collector, Kuchaman City. Devendra Singh Parmar has been appointed Additional District Collector, Deeg.
Education, Social Justice and Other Departmental Postings
The RAS transfer list also includes several appointments in education, social justice, minority affairs and other departments.
Virendra Singh Yadav has been appointed Additional Director, Monitoring of Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan.
Dr. Preeti Singh Panwar has been posted as Deputy Director in the Minority Affairs Department, while Mahavir Singh has been appointed Secretary of the Rajasthan State Textbook Board.
Dr. Rakesh Kumar Meena has been posted as Additional Director, Scholarships and Hostels, in the Social Justice and Empowerment Department.
Meanwhile, Ashok Kumar has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Rajasthan Housing Board, and Mukesh Chaudhary has been posted as Deputy Director at the Harish Chandra Mathur Rajasthan State Institute of Public Administration.
Changes at Sub-Divisional Level
The reshuffle also covers several field-level postings.
Akash Ranjan has been posted as Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Sabal, while Anil Kumar has been appointed SDO, Chohtan, and Sandeep Kumar SDO, Anandpuri.
Rekha Yadav has been posted as Assistant Collector, Bandikui, while Sanjeev Kumar Khedar has been appointed Assistant Collector (Headquarters), Dausa.
Manasvi Naresh has been posted as Assistant Collector, Niwai.
At the General Administration Department, Pankaj Kumar has been appointed Protocol Officer, Jodhpur, while Ramkishore Meena has been posted as Protocol Officer, Jaipur.
Some Earlier RAS Transfer Orders Cancelled
The government has also made changes to an earlier RAS transfer list.
The transfers of Harphool Pankaj and Ekta Kabra, who had been included in the RAS transfer list issued on August 11, have been cancelled.
Meanwhile, Ashu Chaudhary, former Registrar of Rajasthan University, along with Ranjita Gautam and Suresh Kumar, has been placed on APO status until further orders. The officers have been directed to report to the Department of Personnel.
Reshuffle Comes Ahead of Local Body Election Code
The large-scale administrative changes come at a crucial time as Rajasthan prepares for the upcoming urban local body elections.
The State Election Commission had directed the government to transfer officers who had remained posted at the same location for three years or more, with the objective of ensuring compliance with election-related norms before the Model Code of Conduct comes into force.
The latest orders follow a similar round of RAS transfers carried out last week and bring changes across senior secretariat positions, district administration, development authorities and field-level postings.
With 26 IAS and 53 RAS officers transferred in the latest exercise, along with 14 trainee IAS officers assigned to district election offices, the Rajasthan government has undertaken one of its significant administrative reshuffles ahead of the civic poll process.
