As the present Manipur chief secretary Rajesh Kumar is set to retire by December end, the state secretariat is abuzz with speculations on whether his term would be further extended or a new chief secretary installed from among the eligible IAS officers of Manipur cadre.
Rajesh Kumar was given a six months extension in July this year.
Among the eligible IAS officers, additional chief secretary MH Khan is the seniormost and the batch-mate of Rajesh Kumar and his date of superannuation is May 31, 2024.
Other officers from 1988 batch SK Dev Burman and Letkhogin Haokip are set to retire on January 31, 2023 and February 28, 2023.
Dev Burman is at present secretary in the Ministry of Minority Affairs while Letkhogin Haokip is additional CS in charge of Tribal Affairs and Hills.
The next in line are K Moses Chalai (1990) and P Vaiphei (1991). Moses Chalai is at present on deputation as Secretary, NEC while P Vaiphei is presently additional CS in charge of Horticulture and Social Welfare.
The names of Vineet Joshi, Rakesh Ranjan and Vumlunmang Vualnam are also doing the rounds in certain circles. But, they are all of 1992 batch and both Vineet Joshi and Rakesh Ranjan are on central deputation while Vumlunmang is Additional CS in charge of Health.
However, the race for the new chief secretary seems set between MH Khan, Moses Chalai and P Vaiphei if Rajesh Kumar’s term is not extended further.
Although the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) has the last word in such matters, the state Chief Minister has also a say in the matter.
According to highly placed sources, the state has already written to DOPT seeking another six months extension for Rajesh Kumar which if Centre agrees would certainly set a precedent.
So far, only three Chief Secretaries were given service extension and the maximum period was six months.
DS Poonia was given only three months extension while RR Rashmi was given six months.
Rashmi had only about three months of service when he was appointed Chief Secretary in 2017 and in a special case he was given six months extension.
It may be worth mentioning that, in the past state CSOs have decried the choice of non-locals for the post of the top bureaucrat many a times.
There is no hard and fast rule that only the seniormost IAS officer would be appointed to the post and names are being considered from a panel included in the zone of consideration.
