Major bureaucratic reshuffle in Bihar as Samrat Choudhary govt transfers 18 IAS officers

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has carried out a major administrative reshuffle, transferring 18 IAS officers and reassigning key responsibilities across departments. The move is being viewed as an effort to further strengthen governance and streamline administrative functioning in the state.

Among the key changes, 1996-batch IAS officer K. Senthil Kumar has been shifted from the Sugarcane Industry Department and appointed as Additional Chief Secretary of the Labour Resources and Migrant Workers Welfare Department.

He has also been given additional charge of the Backward Classes and Extremely Backward Classes Welfare Department. Consequently, H.R. Srinivasan (1996 batch) has been relieved of this additional responsibility.

At the divisional level, Prem Singh Meena (2000 batch), Commissioner of Munger Division, has been given additional charge of Bhagalpur Division.

Rajesh Kumar, a 2001-batch IAS officer and Divisional Commissioner of the Kosi range, has been transferred and appointed as Principal Secretary of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED).

In the departmental reshuffle, 2002-batch IAS officer Pankaj Kumar Pal has been appointed Secretary of the Road Construction Department, while Abhay Kumar Singh (2006 batch) has been posted as Secretary of the Information Technology Department and will continue to hold additional charge of BELTRON.

Dharmendra Singh (2006 batch) has been assigned charge of the Sugarcane Industry Department along with the Cooperation Department, while Deepak Anand (2007 batch) has been transferred to head the Food and Consumer Protection Department.

Vinod Singh Gunjiyal (2007 batch) has been given charge of the Education, Sports and Election departments, while Dr B. Rajendra (1995 batch) has been relieved of his additional responsibilities in the Education and Sports departments.

Further changes include the appointment of Avneesh Kumar Singh as Secretary-cum-Mines Commissioner in the Mines and Geology Department, along with additional responsibilities in state mining corporations.

Himanshu Kumar Rai (IAS, 2010 batch), currently serving as Commissioner of Darbhanga Division, has been given additional charge of Commissioner, Kosi Division (Saharsa), until further orders.

Himanshu Sharma (IAS, 2011 batch), who was serving as CEO of Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (JEEViKA)-cum-State Mission Director and Commissioner (Self-Employment), Rural Development Department, has been transferred and posted as Secretary-in-Charge of the Science, Technology and Technical Education Department in Patna.

He will continue to hold his additional responsibilities as CEO, JEEViKA-cum-State Mission Director and Officer on Special Duty in the Disaster Management Department until further orders.

Following this change, Lokesh Kumar Singh (IAS, 2003 batch), Secretary of the Tourism Department, has been relieved of his additional charge as Secretary of the Science, Technology and Technical Education Department. However, he will continue in his other assigned roles, including responsibilities in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

Anshul Kumar has been given additional divisional responsibilities for the Kosi and Purnea divisions respectively.

Among younger officers, Shrikant Kundlik Khandekar (2020 batch) and Gunjan Singh (2020 batch) have been appointed Joint Secretaries in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, while Shubham Kumar (2021 batch) has been posted as Deputy Development Commissioner-cum-CEO in Patna.

The extensive reshuffle reflects the state government’s intent to place experienced officers in crucial administrative positions.

The move is expected to accelerate decision-making, improve inter-departmental coordination and enhance overall administrative efficiency in Bihar.

IANS