Amid lockdown, Madhya Pradesh govt reshuffles 50 IAS officers

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Bhopal: In a major administrative reshuffle amid the lockdown, the Madhya Pradesh government has transferred 50 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, including some additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries and a former chief secretary.

This is the first major bureaucratic rejig by the BJP-led state government since Shivraj Singh Chouhan became chief minister in March this year.

As per the order issued on Saturday night, former chief secretary Gopal Reddy has been posted as chairman of the revenue board at Gwalior, I C P Keshari as vice chairman of the Narmada Valley Development Authority, Vinod Kumar as additional chief secretary (ACS) of the general administration department and J N Kansotia as ACS of the animal husbandry department, official sources said.

Besides, Anupam Rajan is posted as principal secretary of the public relations and higher education departments.

The government has removed P Narhari as commissioner of the public relations department and replaced him with Sudam P Khade. 

Narhari has now been made managing director of the marketing federation and will continue as commissioner of the urban development and administration department.

As per the order, Sanjay Shukla is posted as principal secretary of the industrial policy and promotion department, replacing Rajesh Rajora, who is transferred as principal secretary of the labour department.

Neeraj Mandloi is posted as principal secretary of the public works department, replacing Malay Shrivastava, who is now posted as principal secretary of the public health engineering department.

Forty other senior IAS officers, including two who suffered from COVID-19 and later recovered, have also been transferred, the sources said.