At least four IAS officers, one PCS officer, and two IPS officers in Punjab are awaiting government orders for new postings after being transferred from their previous assignments.
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Mr. Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, a 2001-batch IAS officer, was removed from his position as the state’s Home Secretary on March 24. He has not been assigned any new responsibilities and has been directed to report to the Personnel Department Secretary. He is the second IAS officer to be stripped of all charges within the past ten days. Previously, he was in charge of mines and geology, served as the commissioner of food and drug administration, and oversaw gurdwara elections, but all these responsibilities have been withdrawn.
Mr. K.K. Yadav, a 2003-batch IAS officer, was removed as Administrative Secretary of the Education Department on March 2, with Ms. Anindita Mitra appointed as his replacement. Since then, he has remained without a posting.
Mr. Puneet Goyal, a 2010-batch IAS officer, was removed as Director of Food on February 25 and has not received a new assignment.
Mr. Jitender Jorwal, a 2014-batch IAS officer, was removed as the Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana on March 19, with Mr. Himanshu Jain taking over. Jorwal has yet to be reassigned.
Among PCS officers, Mr. Daman Mann, who served as Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Mohali, was transferred in October last year and has remained without a posting since then.
In the IPS cadre, Mr. Varinder Kumar (1993 batch) was removed as Punjab’s Vigilance Chief on February 17 and has been awaiting reassignment. His successor, Mr. G. Nageswara Rao (1995 batch), was later transferred, but Kumar has not yet been given a new role.
Most recently, on Friday, Mr. Kuldeep Chahal (2009-batch IPS officer) was removed as Ludhiana’s Commissioner of Police without being assigned a new posting.
The prolonged delays in reassigning these officers have raised concerns about administrative efficiency in Punjab.
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