Several HCS,PCS posts vacant in UT

A number of posts of Haryana Civil Services and Punjab Civil Services officers in the city are lying vacant.

A number of posts of Haryana Civil Services (HCS) and Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officers in the city are lying vacant. With the shortage of officers,the ones posted here are holding multiple charges. The recent cadre war between officers from these states and IAS officers has worsened the situation and not many officers are willing to join in Chandigarh. There is a sanctioned strength of 12 PCS officers and 9 HCS officers in the city. Of these,there are nine PCS officers and six HCS officers posted here at present. The remaining posts are lying vacant.

While a panel of officers from Punjab is expected to be received,the panel from Haryana is yet to get clearance from the state government. Over the past few years,Chandigarh no longer seems to be a favoured destination for officers from states to join. Multiple charges are being held by currently serving officers in the wake of the paucity of officials. In fact,in the past few months,the charges of officers have been shuffled a number of times.

The most recent shuffling of charges was in March when the charge of director (information technology) was given to IAS Tanvi Garg. For the past few years,the post of Director (IT) had been held by officers from the states. However,the charge changed hands after the appointment of IAS Prerna Puri as secretary (IT). Garg is also handling the charge of SDM (East) and director (tourism).

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During the reshuffle,HCS officer Mahavir Kaushik was relieved of his charges and these were handed over to PCS Balbir Singh. Singh now holds charge of director (industries),State Transport Authority secretary and controller (weights and measures). Similarly,there are other officers who are holding multiple charge. Lalit Siwach,additional commissioner-II of the Municipal Corporation (MC),is holding charge of secretary of the MC,chief fire officer and assistant commissioner of NAC,Manimajra.

MC Additional Commissioner-I Sunil Bhatia,a PCS officer,is also holding additional charge of director (sports). Tilak Raj,an HCS officer,is holding charges of director (hospitality),land acquisition officer and joint electoral officer. An HCS officer explained,Chandigarh is no longer a lucrative place to be posted for officers. In fact,officers are reluctant to join and usually make attempts to get their names removed from the panels. Only those who want to stay in Chandigarh for personal reasons are willing to join here. Over the past few years,the charges traditionally held by HCS officers have been given to either IAS or PCS officers.

Recently,officers from the HCS and PCS had held several rounds of meetings against the alleged favouritism being shown to IAS officers in the city. There was a resentment over the charges that were being given to them.

Another official said that while officers are reluctant to join the city,there are times when the panel does not find favour with the Administration. The states also take time to finalise their panels. This has resulted in many officers holding multiple charge.

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chandigarh
IAS
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