Saunik top contender for chief secy post

Chief secretary Nitin Kareer is due to retire on March 31, with three top bureaucrats vying for the post in Maharashtra. Top contender is Sujata Saunik.

Mumbai: With chief secretary Nitin Kareer due to retire on March 31, three bureaucrats are in the fray for the top post in the state administration. The top contender is additional chief secretary (home) Sujata Saunik, who was superseded twice, once by her husband Manoj Saunik and on the second occasion by Kareer. The other two contenders for the post are additional chief secretary (revenue) Rajesh Kumar Meena and additional chief secretary (chief minister’s office) Iqbal Singh Chahal.

Sujata Saunik is due to retire in 2025

Kareer was appointed after Manoj Saunik retired as chief secretary on December 31, 2023. The state government has so far not sent any proposal to the centre for his extension. If a proposal is indeed sent and approved, he will continue in the post. Else, the government will have to pick his successor from among the three officers in the fray.

The top contender Saunik, a 1987 batch IAS officer, is due to retire in June 2025. If chosen for the post, she would become the first woman chief secretary of Maharashtra. It would also be the first time when a husband and wife become the chief secretary of a state.

Meena, another contender, is a 1988 batch IAS officer who is slated to retire in August 2025. The third contender Chahal was the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner till last Thursday before he was transferred out in accordance with the Election Commission of India’s order. The 1989 batch IAS officer took up the assignment at the chief minister’s office on Tuesday.

The role of the chief secretary is very important during elections, on par with the director general of police or the home secretary. The state government sent the file with names of contenders to Election Commission on Tuesday evening and a reply is expected soon.