The Haryana government has carried out a major administrative reshuffle involving several senior IAS and HCS officers, with significant changes in key departments including Information and Public Relations, Medical Education, Mining and Geology, Transport, Revenue, Human Resources and Urban Local Bodies.
Among the most notable appointments, senior 2007-batch IAS officer K.M. Pandurang has been appointed Commissioner and Secretary of the Information, Public Relations, Language and Culture Department. He will also hold the charge of Commissioner and Secretary of the Mines and Geology Department.
Pandurang will, however, continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority (PMDA).
The government has also appointed 2011-batch IAS officer Dr Aditya Dahiya as Director General and Special Secretary of the Information, Public Relations, Language and Culture Department. He has additionally been given the charge of Director, Art and Cultural Affairs Department, Managing Director of Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL), and Director of the Department of Future.
The appointments were part of a wider reshuffle ordered by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi.
Among other major changes, IAS officer G. Anupama, Additional Chief Secretary of Social Justice and Empowerment, Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Welfare, Antyodaya (SEWA) and Civil Aviation departments, has been given additional charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Department.
C.G. Rajini Kanthan has been appointed Commissioner and Secretary of the Medical Education and Research Department.
Dushmanta Kumar Behera has been appointed Commissioner and Secretary of the Human Resources Department and General Administration Department.
Rajeev Ranjan has been appointed Secretary of the Personnel, Training and Parliamentary Affairs Department, Director of Training (ex-officio), Inquiry Officer and Director General of Vigilance and Haryana Supply and Disposal Department.
IAS officer Pankaj has been appointed Secretary of the Haryana Public Service Commission and Managing Director of Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL).
IAS officer Prabhjot Singh, currently Director General of Environment and Secretary of the Environment, Forest and Wildlife Department, has been given additional charge as Transport Commissioner, Haryana and Secretary of the Transport Department.
Hema Sharma has been appointed Commissioner of the Karnal Division.
In the urban administration sector, Yashendra Singh has been appointed Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Faridabad, as well as Chief Executive Officer of Faridabad Smart City Limited.
Dhirendra Khadgta has been appointed Director of Medical Education and Research and Director of Haryana State Transport.
Pradeep Dahiya, currently Deputy Commissioner-designate of Rohtak, has been appointed Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Gurugram, and District Municipal Commissioner, Gurugram.
Pratima Chaudhary has been appointed Member Secretary of the Haryana State Commission for Women and Managing Director of the Haryana Women Development Corporation.
Ambala Deputy Commissioner Sachin Gupta has been given additional charge as Additional Controller, Civil Defence, Ambala.
Renu Sogan has been appointed Additional Secretary in the Public Health Engineering Department.
Samvartak Singh Khangwal, Additional Secretary and Director in the Information Technology, Electronics and Communication Department, has been given additional charge as Director and Additional Secretary of the Mines and Geology Department.
Vivek Arya has been appointed Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Citizen Resources Information Officer, Panchkula. He will also serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board and Chief Executive Officer of the District Council and DRDA, Panchkula.
Among the HCS officers, Yogesh Kumar Mehta has been given additional charge as Secretary of the Haryana Traders Welfare Board.
Vijender Hooda has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the District Council and DRDA, Charkhi Dadri, while Virender Chaudhary has been appointed Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Citizen Resources Information Officer, Kurukshetra.
Pankaj Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of the Kurukshetra Development Board, has been appointed Additional Director and Joint Secretary of the Urban Local Bodies Department.
Suresh Kumar has been appointed City Magistrate of Charkhi Dadri.
Monika, Joint Director of the Department of Future, has been given additional charge as Joint Director (Administration), Mid-Day Meal, Department of Elementary Education.
Manjit Kumar, Joint Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Rohtak, has been given additional charge as Estate Officer, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HSVP), Rohtak, and Land Acquisition Officer, Rohtak.
Orders regarding the posting of HCS officer Pradeep Ahlawat-II will be issued separately.
The appointments of Pandurang and Dahiya are particularly significant as they bring two senior administrators into key positions responsible for the Haryana government’s communication, public outreach and cultural affairs.
While Pandurang will provide administrative leadership as Commissioner and Secretary, Dahiya’s appointment as Director General and Special Secretary places him in a crucial operational position overseeing the government’s information and public relations machinery.
The reshuffle comes at a time when effective government communication, public outreach and coordination between departments have become increasingly important, making the new assignments of Pandurang and Dahiya particularly noteworthy.
