J&K cadre IAS officer to be home secretary

A J&K cadre IAS officer Anil Goswami has been appointed as the next home secretary, the first from the state to make it to the key post in Delhi. Aloke Tikku reports.

A J&K cadre IAS officer Anil Goswami has been appointed as the next home secretary, the first from the state to make it to the key post in Delhi.

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A seasoned hand on Jammu & Kashmir affairs, Goswami will be Officer on Special Duty with immediate effect till June 30 when he takes charge from incumbent RK Singh.

He will be appointed for a two-year tenure.

The move to formalise Goswami's appointment more than two months is unusual. In 2011, then home secretary GK Pillai had asked the government to appoint his successor in advance to make the change of guard a smooth affair. The cabinet secretariat had, however, rejected the suggestion and named his successor RK Singh only in June.

It is not clear why the cabinet secretariat decided to appointed Goswami to the home ministry two months before the formal take-over this time

The soft-spoken Goswami - who had earlier served as principal secretary to the then chief minister Gulam nabi Azad - was earlier this year the Congress' candidate for the chief secretary's post.

The Omar Abdullah government, however, appointed his batch-mate Mohammad Iqbal Khandey. Goswami - who had served as J&K home secretary earlier - had come on central deputation in 2010 and handled several key responsibilities over the next two years.

Last July, he was appointed secretary of the social justice and empowerment department.