Amid row over IPS elevations, Punjab chief secy green-lights 2 IAS officers’ promotion

Once the latest promotions are finalised, Punjab will have 11 officers with the rank of chief secretary and additional chief secretary.

Amid a row over promotions of eight additional director generals of police (ADGPs) as director generals of police (DGPs) being put on hold, chief secretary KAP Sinha has given a go-ahead to the promotion of two 1995-batch IAS officers as additional chief secretaries.

Two 1995-batch IAS officers due for promotion are Jaspreet Talwar and Dilip Kumar, who have completed 40 years of service.

Sinha has asked the personnel department to fix a meeting for the promotion of the two 1995-batch IAS officers – Jaspreet Talwar and Dilip Kumar— who have completed 40 years of service.

The move has not gone down well with IPS officers awaiting promotions who alleged that it shows “the double standards” of the IAS lobby.

While slamming the brakes on ADGPs’ promotion, Sinha had cited a top-heavy police force, which already has 15 DGP-rank officers, and mentioned two “contradictory rules” submitted by the home department for promotion of the IPS officers. “While objections are raised on our promotion due to the lack of available posts and claims of a top-heavy force, IAS officers are promoted without such restrictions,” said a1994-batch IPS officer, who did not want to be named.

Sinha, however, refuted the allegations. “Don’t correlate this (promotion of IAS officers) with the promotion of IPS officers. The IAS officers are being promoted against the existing vacancies in the Punjab cadre. VK Singh has retired, creating one post, while one more post can be created as per the rules. However, everything will be double-checked before promotions are finalised,” Sinha said.

“The DGP posts are already over-created in the state. I don’t want to deviate from cadre rules, thus had put queries. Once I get replies, I will certainly promote them (IPS officers),” he added.

Once the latest promotions are finalised, Punjab will have 11 officers with the rank of chief secretary and additional chief secretary. Presently, apart from KAP Sinha, Anirudh Tiwari (1990 batch), Sarvjit Singh and Raji P Srivastava (1992 batch) are working as special chief secretaries, while Anurag Verma and K Siva Prasad (1993 batch), Vikas Pratap, Alok Shekhar, Dhirendra Kumar Tiwari, JM Balamurugan, and Tejveer Singh (1994 batch) are working as additional chief secretary. Three officers of the same rank— Anurag Aggarwal, Seema Jain and Rakesh Kumar—are on central deputation.