Lt Governor reshuffles six senior IAS officers in J&K ahead of new chief secretary

Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday directed the relocation of six senior IAS officers, just a day before Sajjan Singh Yadav assumes the role of chief secretary after CS Atal Dulloo’s retirement.

Reassignments

Shaleen Kabra, a 1992‑batch AGMUT officer, moves from the Jal Shakti Department to become director‑general of the Jammu and Kashmir Institute of Management, Public Administration & Rural Development. He previously served as Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary) for Jal Shakti and held extra charges for revenue, estates and administrative secretary roles. Rehana Batul, a 2010‑batch officer, also becomes director‑general of the same institute and takes over as commissioner‑secretary of the Tribal Affairs Department, relieving Avny Lavasa, who now adds the revenue secretary portfolio. Chandraker Bharti, a 1996‑batch IAS, retains his home department post and picks up the additional charge of Financial Commissioner for Revenue. M Raju, from the 1995 batch, keeps his duties as commissioner‑secretary of General Administration and will also serve as administrative secretary for the estates department. Saugat Biswasm, a 2006‑batch officer, continues as commissioner‑secretary of Health and Medical Education while adding the role of administrative secretary for Jal Shakti. Earlier, Ashwani Kumar and Dr Ashish Chandra Verma were moved from J&K to Delhi, taking up financial commissioner posts in power development and agriculture production respectively. Senior officials Dheeraj Gupta, Shailendra Kumar and Anil Kumar Singh remain in their current positions and will not report to the incoming chief secretary.

Context

Such large‑scale transfers are common when a new chief secretary joins, helping the administration align senior officers with the new leader’s priorities.