Chandigarh Administration on Monday assigned duties to various IAS officials but gave more power to the officials from Assam–Meghalaya, Manipur–Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh – Goa–Mizoram–Union Territories (AGMUT) than their counterparts from Punjab and Haryana. Administration assigned 1989 batch IAS officer from AGMUT, Maninder Singh, has been given the charge of Chairman, Chandigarh Housing Board and Secretary Housing, followed by 1991 AGMUT batch IAS K. Narasimha, as Secretary Statistics, Secretary Printing and Stationery, Secretary Rural Development and Panchayats and Secretary Agriculture.
Similarly, another 1993 batch IAS from AGMUT cadre, Vikram Dev Dutt, has been given the charge of Secretary Personnel, Secretary Environment and Forests, Secretary Science and Technology, Secretary Hospitality, Secretary Public Relations, Secretary Urban Planning, Secretary Technical Education and Secretary Transport.
Dr. SB Deepak Kumar, IAS of 2005 batch from AGMUT has been given the charge of Secretary Information Technology, Secretary House Allotment Committee (Upper), Special Secretary Home/Personnel/ Vigilance, Chief Executive Officer, Chandigarh Housing Board, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate, Registrar Cooperative Societies, Agriculture Census Commissioner, President, Zila Sainik Welfare Board, Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Secretary Marketing Board, Controller, Civil Defence, Excise & Taxation Commissioner, Estate Officer, Director, Food & Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Director Agriculture, and labour Commissioner.
Danish Ashraf, 2011 batch IAS from AGMUT has been given the charge of Sub-Divisional Magistrate (East), Additional Director Food and Supplies and Secretary Chandigarh Housing Board. Similarly, 2011 batch another IAS of same cadre Kashish Mittal, has been given Sub-Divisional Magistrate (South) and Registrar licensing Authority and Prince Dhawan, IAS of 2012 batch of AGMUT cadre given the charge of Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Central), Director Rural Development and Panchayat, Director Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Director Information Technology, Assistant Estate Officer (Headquarter), Secretary Red Cross Society, Nodal Officer State Agriculture Marketing Board, and Joint Secretary State Agriculture Marketing Board. However, senior IASs from Punjab and Haryana have been given their predefined departments.
1992 batch IAS from Punjab Sarvjit Singh, is to look after finance department as , Finance Secretary besides working as Secretary Engineering, Secretary Sports, Secretary Treasury & Accounts, Secretary Excise & Taxation, Secretary local Fund Examiner, Secretary Education, Secretary labour, Secretary Employment and Chief Administrator. Another Punjab 1999 batch IAS officer, Bhawna Garg, got charge of Special Secretary Finance, Secretary Social Welfare, Chairman Child & Women Development Corporation, Chairman SC, BC & Minorities Financial & Development Corporation, Secretary (ex-officio) Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Secretary Animal Husbandry, Secretary Cooperation, Director Treasury & Accounts, Project Director Educity and Director Planning & Statistics. It also added that the Charges assigned to Smt. Bhawna Garg, IAS, will be looked after by the officers who were earlier holding these charges, till her joining.
Similarly, 2006 batch IAS officer from Punjab Kavita Singh, will work as Managing Director, Chandigarh Industrial & Tourism Development Corporation ltd., Chandigarh and Director Tourism. However, Haryana 1994 batch IAS officer Anurag Aggarwal, will retain his post as Home Secretary U.T. Secretariat Establishment, besides working as Secretary Police, Secretary Prisons, Secretary Revenue, Secretary Industries, Secretary Health, Secretary Medical Education and Research, Chief Electoral Officer, Secretary law & Justice, Secretary local Government, Secretary Water resources, Secretary Tourism, Secretary Culture and Chairman, Chandigarh Industrial & Tourism Development Corporation ltd., Chandigarh.
Administration allowed another Punjab IAS of 1996 batch, Vivek Partap Singh, to continue his work as Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Chandigarh here. In addition to this, Kamlesh Kumar, HCS, Director Public Instructions (S), U.T., Chandigarh has been given the charge of the post of Director Technical Education, U.T., Chandigarh in addition to his own duties.
Sources said UT Adviser 1987-batch IAS officer Vijay Kumar Dev, who himself is from AGMUT-cadre, gave more powers to the IAS officers of his own cadre. He has on the first day of his joining, warned UT officials to “leave behind the tag of Punjab, Haryana and UT, and work as a team for the residents of Chandigarh”. During a one-hour meeting at the UT Guest House with UT officials immediately after reaching Chandigarh, Dev had told officials, that “When somebody is in Chandigarh, he does not belong to Punjab, Haryana and UT. Our loyalty has to be towards Chandigarh, towards its residents. So whatever we do, whoever we are, from wherever we have come, our allegiance should be towards the city residents.”
In the last three years, there were controversies over postings in the UT. Haryana-cadre bureaucrats cried foul over being sidelined in the distribution of portfolios at the cost of UT-cadre officers. Even former UT Home Secretary Anil Kumar, an IAS from Haryana-cadre had, expressed his fear in writing to the Haryana Government stating that Haryana-cadre officials were being sidelined in Chandigarh.
Recently when former DC Mohammad Shayin another IAS from Haryana, was involved in a departmental fight with his counterpart K Narasimha from AGMUT cadre, he had to face repatriation without any explanation.