Who will be the Chief Secretary?

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, September 14

The race for the post of Chief Secretary for Delhi has begun in right earnest with several contenders lobbying with the political bosses for the most important post of a bureaucrat in the Delhi government.

Delhi’s Chief Secretary R. Narayanaswamy, a 1971 batch officer, would be retiring by the end of November this year. As the state government’s recommendation of a fixed tenure of 2 years for the Chief Secretary is yet to be implemented, the exit of Narayanaswamy is being considered a certainty in the bureaucratic circles. The only point which is in favour of the CS is the practice of giving extensions, particularly when the retirement time is a few months away from the close of a financial year.

“P.S. Bhatnagar, who was the CS some time ago, was given an extension as his retirement was months away before the end of a financial year,” said a senior officer. He said in such circumstances, the government cites ongoing work and says that the continuation of the officer is necessary for the completion of the projects.

If Narayanaswamy does not get an extension, there are over half a dozen officers to choose from. Neeru Nanda of the 1971 batch is retiring in April next year so she is effectively out of the race. B.B. Saxena, IAS of the 1972 batch too would retire in June 2008 and would not be considered.

P.M. Singh, an officer of the 1972 batch of the IAS and presently posted in the Delhi Commission for Women, was favoured till recently. However, due to a case pertaining to her stint in the NDMC, officials rule her out for the coveted post. R.S. Sethi, an officer of the 1973 batch and presently posted as Commissioner (Appeals) too would not find favour with the current dispensation. He has not been given any significant post in the last few years.

The choice is limited to the officers of the 1974 batch. Pradeep Singh, of this batch and presently on a deputation with the central government has a year’s service left. He, however, has not served in the state government for a while and this is considered an important yardstick by the decision makers. A serious contender for the post is Singh’s batch mate A.K. Nigam, Commissioner of the MCD. Nigam has steered MCD in the aftermath of the sealing and demolition drives.

Neeta Bali, another officer of the 1974 batch is another contender at this point of time. An MBA from Colombia University, Bali is presently the chairperson of the Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation. She steered the corporation out of losses and made record profits in her tenure. The corporation, which was on the verge of being closed, has revived with her efforts.

The last, but not the least is Rakesh Mehta, the junior most amongst all these officers. Belonging to the 1975 batch of the IAS, Mehta was the MCD Commissioner for over 3 years and presently heads 4 departments in the Delhi government. He is believed to be close to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. What may dampen his chances is the fact that certain irregularities in the MCD during his tenure is under scanner. Mehta’s batch mate Kiran Dhingra, presently on a central deputation too is a contender. It remains to be seen if the state government bypasses the seniority of the others to make a junior officer the Chief Secretary. (2007)