In a significant administrative reshuffle, the Haryana government has transferred 12 IAS officers and appointed Anurag Rastogi, a 1990-batch officer, as the new home secretary. According to a government order, Rastogi will now serve as the additional chief secretary for the home, jails, criminal investigation, and administration of justice departments, while continuing to oversee the finance and planning departments.

Rastogi succeeds Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad as the home secretary. This reshuffle in the top bureaucracy, anticipated since the Lok Sabha polls, comes just months before the upcoming assembly elections later this year.

In a similar major reshuffle over a week ago, the Haryana government transferred 23 Indian Police Service (IPS) and 27 Haryana Police Service officers.

Other notable transfers include Anurag Agarwal, the chief electoral officer and additional chief secretary of the elections department, who has been posted as additional chief secretary in the irrigation and water resources department. Phool Chand Meena, managing director of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, will take on the role of Hisar division commissioner in addition to his current duties.

Geeta Bharti, the Hisar division commissioner and managing director of the Haryana Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation, will also serve as the commissioner of Ambala division. Ankur Gupta, additional chief secretary in the agriculture and farmers welfare department, has been reassigned as additional chief secretary in the cooperation department and the personnel department (appointments).

Anand Mohan Sharan, additional chief secretary in the environment, forests, and wildlife department, will now hold the same position in the labour department alongside his existing responsibilities. Raja Sekhar Vundru, previously the cooperation department’s additional chief secretary, will now serve as the additional chief secretary in the agriculture and farmers welfare department as well as the animal husbandry and dairying department.

Vineet Garg, additional chief secretary in the higher education department, has been transferred to the school education department. Rajiv Rattan, director general of higher education and secretary of the higher education department, will take on the role of commissioner of the Karnal division in addition to his current duties.