J-K transfers 49 officers, Odisha transfers seven IAS officers in bureaucratic reshuffle

Jammu and Kashmir and Odisha on Wednesday announced major bureaucratic reshuffles, transferring and posting 56 officers between them, including 49 officers in J-K and seven IAS officers in Odisha.

In J-K, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha ordered the transfer and posting of 49 officers, including 42 IAS officers, in one of the biggest administrative reshuffles of the year.

Vikas Kundal, a 2013-batch AGMUT cadre officer, has been appointed Jammu divisional commissioner, replacing Ramesh Kumar. Kundal has been transferred from his post as chairman of the J-K Services Selection Board and will also hold additional charge as additional CEO of the Jammu Metropolitan Regional Development Authority.

Kumar, who had served as Jammu divisional commissioner since May 2022, has been posted as secretary in the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. He will also hold additional charge as Administrative Secretary, Culture Department, while continuing as Resident Commissioner, J-K Government, New Delhi.

The reshuffle also affects several districts. Minga Sherpa has replaced Rakesh Minhas as deputy commissioner of Jammu, while Devansh Yadav, commissioner of the Jammu Municipal Corporation, has been posted as deputy commissioner of Rajouri.

Abhishek Sharma has been shifted from Rajouri to Kupwara, replacing Shrikant Balasaheb Suse, who has been appointed chairman of the J-K Services Selection Board.

Jatin Kishore has been moved from Ganderbal to Budgam, while Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan has been appointed Managing Director of the National Health Mission, J-K, after being shifted from Budgam.

Rupesh Kumar has been posted as deputy commissioner of Samba, replacing Ayushi Sudan, who will take charge as Commissioner of the Jammu Municipal Corporation. Ananth Dwivedi has been appointed deputy commissioner of Udhampur.

Shreya Singhal will replace Kishore as deputy commissioner of Ganderbal, while Kuldeep Krishan Sidha has been posted as deputy commissioner of Pulwama. Basharat Qayoom has been transferred to head the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, while Charandeep Singh has been posted as deputy commissioner of Shopian.

At the senior administrative level, Shaleen Kabra has been given additional charge of the Revenue Department, while Ashish Chandra Verma has been transferred from Tourism to the Agriculture Production Department.

M Raju has been divested of the additional charge of the Health and Medical Education Department and will now hold additional charge of Hospitality and Protocol as well as Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction. Saugat Biswas has been appointed Commissioner Secretary of the Health and Medical Education Department.

R Alice Vaz has been appointed Commissioner Secretary, Transport Department, while also holding additional charge of Civil Aviation and continuing to oversee the Information Department. Sarmad Hafeez has been shifted to Youth Services and Sports, while Avny Lavasa has been moved to Tourism while retaining charge of Tribal Affairs.

Rahul Yadav has been appointed Administrative Secretary, Information Technology Department, while Owais Ahmed will head the Planning, Development and Monitoring Department.

In Odisha, the state government transferred seven IAS officers, including the collectors of Nabarangpur and Nuapada districts.

Nabarangpur collector Maheswar Swain has been posted as additional secretary to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, with 2019-batch IAS officer Anya Das appointed as his successor.

Nuapada collector Madhusudan Dash has been posted as additional secretary in the General Administration and Public Grievances Department. Madhumita, a 2020-batch IAS officer, will take charge as the new collector of Nuapada.

The Odisha government also appointed Pradeep Kumar Nayak as additional secretary in the Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department.

Ashni A L has been posted as sub-collector of Bhawanipatna, while Kasturi Sha has been appointed under secretary in the General Administration and Public Grievances Department.

The reshuffles come as both states make changes across senior administrative and district-level posts.