Punjab IAS reshuffle: Girish Dayalan moved to jails dept; key additional charges reassigned
Chandigarh, June 7
The Punjab Government has ordered a significant reshuffle in the Indian Administrative Service cadre, reallocating key responsibilities among senior officers and assigning several additional charges to streamline administrative functioning.
Under the orders issued on Saturday by Chief Secretary K A P Sinha, senior IAS officer Manvesh Singh Sidhu (2004 batch), who is serving as Administrative Secretary, Labour, Secretary, Revenue and Rehabilitation, and Commissioner, Roopnagar Division, has been given the additional charge of Managing Director, Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB). He replaces Girish Dayalan in the role.
In a major move, Girish Dayalan (2011 batch) has been shifted from his current responsibilities as Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Managing Director of The Punjab State Cooperative Bank, PIDB, and MARKFED to become Special Secretary, Jails.
Sanyam Aggarwal (2012 batch), presently Special Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Chief Executive Officer of the State Health Agency, and Nodal Officer for the anti-drug campaign, has been entrusted with the additional charge of Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Punjab, and Managing Director, The Punjab State Cooperative Bank Ltd., following Dayalan's transfer.
The government has also assigned Vishesh Sarangal (2013 batch), Special Secretary, Good Governance and Information Technology, with the additional charge of Managing Director, MARKFED.
Among other changes, Sakshi Sawhney (2014 batch), Mission Director of the National Health Mission (NHM), Punjab, has been appointed Special Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, while retaining her existing responsibilities as NHM Mission Director and Chief Administrator of the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA).
Meanwhile, Preeti Yadav (2014 batch), Special Secretary, Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training, has been given the additional charge of Special Secretary, Expenditure (Finance Department).
The Personnel Department has directed all officers concerned to assume their new assignments immediately, while departments have been instructed to make internal arrangements for work relating to posts that have fallen vacant following the transfers.
— ANI
Reader Comments
From managing cooperatives and banks to jails - that's quite a shift. Someone in the Chief Secretary's office must have seen something. But honestly, every posting is an opportunity to serve. Let's see what Dayalan does with prisons. 🤔
Is this a punishment posting for Dayalan or a strategic move? Jails department is crucial for handling Punjab's drug crisis. The man knows finance and cooperatives - maybe they want him to audit prison budgets and stop corruption. Smart thinking by the government actually. 👏
These reshuffles always look like musical chairs to outsiders. But having worked with IAS officers, I know each move is calculated. Giving additional charge of PIDB to Sidhu makes sense - he's already handling revenue and infrastructure. Efficiency through consolidation. Good admin move. 👍
Read between the lines - Dayalan was handling cooperative banks and MARKFED, both known for financial irregularities in Punjab. Moving him to jails might be to clean up a mess or to get him away from something. The fact that Sanyam Aggarwal (known as a no-nonsense officer) takes over cooperative dept is telling. Watch this space. 👀
Sakshi Sawhney already has NHM and PUDA - now adding Special Secretary Health? That's a lot of responsibility for a 2014 batch officer. Either she's exceptionally capable or this is overburdening. Either way, hope the extra charge comes with extra resources. Punjab's health system needs that. 🏥
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