The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on Wednesday appointed senior IAS officer KAP Sinha as the new chief secretary, replacing Anurag Verma.
Sinha, a 1992-batch IAS officer, was serving as special chief secretary, revenue, rehabilitation, disaster management and was also holding the charge of special chief secretary, agriculture and farmer’s welfare, horticulture and soil and water conservation.
Verma will now be holding the charges held by Sinha.
Removing Verma, a 1993-batch IAS officer, from the top post is being seen as another attempt of the AAP high command “to put the house in order” as according to people familiar with the development, Verma fell short of the party high command’s expectations in implementing key government schemes.
Only last week, Verma met top AAP leaders in the national capital to give feedback of the schemes implemented by the Punjab government, an official privy to the matter said.
As Verma’s removal has come close on the heels of other changes being made in the chief minister’s office (CMO) reportedly by the AAP high command, more heads may roll in future, especially in the bureaucracy and the top police brass, people familiar with the development said.
Four of the chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s close aides, including his OSD Onkar Singh, director communications Navneet Wadhwa, director, media relations, Baltej Pannu and director, communications, Manpreet Kaur have resigned or were asked to resign from their posts.
{{/usCountry}}Four of the chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s close aides, including his OSD Onkar Singh, director communications Navneet Wadhwa, director, media relations, Baltej Pannu and director, communications, Manpreet Kaur have resigned or were asked to resign from their posts.
{{/usCountry}}Verma’s removal has surprised many in the state government as he was also considered close to a few leaders in the AAP brass.
Sinha, who is 1992-batch IAS, was in contention for the top post when Verma was appointed as the chief secretary on June 26, 2023.
Sinha, a BTech in mining engineering, MA in economic and LLB, would be 43rd chief secretary of Punjab and would retire on December 31, 2027. He is known for his fast-track approach, has closely worked with previous state governments being the head of key departments like finance and food and civil supplies.
He was additional chief secretary excise and taxation when Enforcement Directorate started probe into Punjab excise policy in connection with its investigations into the alleged Delhi liquor scam.