The Chhattisgarh government has executed a massive reshuffle affecting 88 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and one Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. The General Administration Department issued the order on January 3, 2024, ushering in a wave of changes across key departments and districts.
IAS officer P. Dayanand who has been serving as Secretary to the Chief Minister, has been relieved of the additional charge of Medical Education Secretary. The 2006-batch officer will now take on additional responsibilities as the Secretary of Energy, Mineral Resources, and Public Relations Departments, Chairman of the Chhattisgarh State Power Company, as well as Secretary of Commerce and Industry (Rail Line projects) and Aviation Departments.
Other key changes from the reshuffle include the following:
- Collectors from 19 districts, including Raipur, Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB), Kanker, Korba, Rajnandgaon, Bemetara, Kondagaon, Durg, Surajpur, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Surguja, Janjgir-Champa, Balod, Dhamtari, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, and Gariaband, have been reassigned.
- IAS officer Subrat Sahoo, from the 1992 batch, has been appointed the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of Dharmik Nyas (Religious Trust) and Dharmsva Department, with additional charges including Director General of the Thakur Pyarelal State Panchayat and Rural Development Institute. IAS officer Niharika Barik, a 1997 batch IAS officer, replaced him as the Principal Secretary of the Panchayat and Rural Development Department.
- IPS officer Mayank Shrivastav, from the 2006 batch, has been appointed as the Commissioner-cum-Director of the Public Relations Department.
- IAS officer Sarveshwar Narendra Bhure, who was serving as the Collector of Raipur, has been posted as the Chhattisgarh State Election Commission Secretary.
- IAS officer Gaurav Kumar Singh, from the 2013 batch, has been appointed as Raipur Collector. He was previously serving as joint secretary of the Panchayat and Rural Development Department.
- IAS officer Pushpendra Meena, former Collector of Durg, has been reassigned as Secretary of the Public Service Commission.
- IAS officer Taran Prakash Sinha and IAS officer Sanjeev Jha, who had been serving as Joint Secretaries in the Mantralaya, have been posted as the Joint Secretary of Sports and Youth Welfare Department and Director of Samgra Shiksha, respectively.
- IAS officer Rajendra Kumar Katara, the former Collector of Bijapur, is now the Director of the State Council and Educational Research and Training (SCERT) with an additional charge as Mission Director of the State Literacy Mission.
