Chandigarh: The balance of bureaucratic power in the Chandigarh administration is shifting further towards the UT/AGMUT cadre, with three IAS officers – Swapnil Naik, Mohammad Younis, and Pradeep Kumar – scheduled to join the administration next week.
Their arrival will raise the number of UT cadre IAS officers to nine, further sidelining officers from Punjab and Haryana, each of whom currently have only two IAS officers serving in the Chandigarh administration.
Punjab & Haryana Raise Concerns Over Administrative Imbalance
The Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana have repeatedly voiced concerns over the growing dominance of UT and Central officers in Chandigarh, both at NITI Aayog meetings and sessions of the Northern Regional Council. They allege that officers from their respective states are being gradually excluded from key decision-making roles, with major departments increasingly being assigned to UT cadre officers.
New Entrants and Background
- Swapnil Naik (IAS, 2009) was transferred from Arunachal Pradesh to Chandigarh 10 months ago but did not assume charge. He is now expected to join on Monday.
- Pradeep Kumar (IAS, 2013) has been brought in from Jammu & Kashmir.
- Mohammad Younis joins from another Union Territory.
These additions bring the UT/AGMUT cadre strength to 9 IAS officers, a considerable majority in the administrative setup.
Current Bureaucratic Composition in Chandigarh
UT/AGMUT Cadre IAS Officers (9)-
- Rajiv Verma (Chief Secretary)
- Prerna Puri
- Ajay Chagati
- Abhijit Vijay Chaudhary
- Swapnil Naik
- Hari Kallikatt
- Mohammad Younis
- Pradeep Kumar
- Anuradha Chagati (Central Secretariat Service – CSS)
DANICS Cadre Officers (4)–
- Akhil Kumar
- Amit Kumar
- Naveen
- Khushpreet Kaur
Punjab Officers–
- IAS: Deeprava Lakra, Amit Kumar
- PCS: 7 officers
Haryana Officers-
- IAS: Mandeep Singh Brar, Nishant Kumar Yadav
- HCS: 5 officers
Chandigarh Police Promotions and Transfers
In a parallel development, the Chandigarh Police Department has announced promotions for 41 personnel to the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI). These promotions were long pending and have brought cheer across the force.
Promoted personnel include-
Hushinder Kumar, Holinder Kumar, Darshan Singh, Hari Om, Jitendra Singh, Yudhveer Singh, Shiv Narayan, Gurdeep Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Yashpal Singh, Mohammad Aslam, Rampal, Rajinder Singh, Dilbag Singh, Shivkumar, Devi Lal, Naib Singh, Vinod Kumar, Satnam Singh, Satyapal, Pawan Kumar, Surinder Singh, Jatinder Kumar, Parveen Kumar, Ashwani Kumar, Satish Kumar, Yashpal, Bhupinder Kumar, Kuldeep Singh, Rohtash Singh, Durjan Singh, Bhim Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Satish Kumar Kaushal, Baljit Singh, Parminder Singh, Samarjit Singh, Ashok Kumar, Bhopal Singh, and Mahabir Singh.
In addition, 61 police personnel were transferred on Friday. Inspector Kehar Singh has been appointed as SHO of Manimajra, a position that had been vacant. Previously, the charge was held temporarily by Hariom Sharma, SHO of Moulijagran police station.
The transfer list includes-
- 1 Inspector
- 4 Sub-Inspectors
- 19 ASIs
- Havaldars, senior constables, and constables
