As the present Chief Secretary (CS) of Delhi will retire by the end of this month, hectic lobbying has begun for the post. The AAP Government has reportedly suggested three names for the post to the Union Home Ministry. The Centre is likely to decide on name of the next CS within a week. Sources said that the AAP has forwarded the names current member secretary of the National Capital Regional Planning Board Naini Jayaseelan, Chairman of Delhi Financial Corporation Sanjay Kumar Srivastava and Secretary to lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung Nutan Guha Biswas.
A post-graduate in economics, Biswas’s name had been doing rounds for the post of the Chief Secretary before Kejriwal took over. Biswas has opted for the Central Government deputation and file to this effect has been moved to the MHA. But, after the new Government took charge, there were indications that Kejriwal could again prefer to have Srivastava as his new Chief Secretary.
During the 49-day AAP rule in 2013, Srivastava, the then additional secretary and financial adviser in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, was appointed as Chief Secretary. But he was transferred by the BJP-Government at the Centre to the Delhi Financial Corporation. Spolia, who was the Chief Secretary during Sheila Dikshit’s tenure, was posted by Kejriwal as the Financial Commissioner, the highest quasi-judicial post within the city administration.
Another post-graduate in economics, Jayaseelan is also said to be lobbying hard for the post of the Chief Secretary. Jayaseelan on Tuesday met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at his office. She termed it a courtesy meeting. She is said to be having an edge over two other panelists as she is very well versed with the issues concerning the National Capital Region. She had also worked as Principal Secretary in the PWD and Common Wealth Games.