CS, DGP among top IAS, IPS officers retiring in J&K in 2023

Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta and Director General of Police Dilbag Singh, respectively heading the civil administration and the Police, are among top IAS and IPS officers scheduled to retire from service in the current year in Jammu and Kashmir.

Even as it is unclear at the moment whether they or either of them was under consideration for an extension of service, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, which administers the services in the Union Territories (UTs), is understood to be looking for a robust team ahead of the Lok Sabha elections of 2024 in Jammu and Kashmir.

A domicile of Bihar and IAS-1988, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, has been functioning as Chief Secretary since 31 May 2021. He is scheduled to reach superannuation on 31 December 2023. A permanent resident of Amritsar, Punjab, Dilbag Singh is IPS-1987. He was appointed as incharge DGP upon shifting of Dr Shesh Pal Vaid as theTransport Commissioner on 6 September 2018 and subsequently appointed as full-time DGP on 31 October 2018. He is reaching superannuation on 31 October 2023.

Both, Mehta and Singh, are direct recruits of IAS/IPS in the erstwhile J&K cadre which has been merged into AGMUT cadre after reorganisation of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir and its division into the two separate UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Sundeep Nayak, a resident of Orissa and IAS-1988 (J&K cadre), holds the rank of Secretary to Government of India. Currently on Central deputation, he is posted as Director General National Productivity Council (NPC), in the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade. He is scheduled to retire on 31 July 2023.

A domicile of Jammu and Kashmir and IAS-1993 officer of J&K cadre, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon is due to retire from service on 30 June 2023. He is currently functioning as Principal Secretary to the Government, Skill Development Department. With a number of his relatives in high positions in J&K civil administration and Police, Samoon is the brother-in-law of the former Chief Secretary late Mohammad Iqbal Khandey.

Two more IAS officers of the top rungs of J&K cadre (now AGMUT), Pradip Kumar Tripathi (1987) and Ashok Kumar Parmar, respectively from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, are scheduled to retire on 30 June 2024 and 31 July 2024. While Tripathi, on Central deputation, is currently posted as Secretary (Coordination) in the Cabinet Secretariat, Parmar is posted as Principal Secretary ARI and Training Department in Government of Jammu and Kashmir. He returned from a long Central deputation in 2022.

Of the senior most IPS officers of the erstwhile J&K cadre, Shiv Murari Sahai of UP, is scheduled to retire on 31 March 2023. Holding the rank of DGP in the Government of India, this officer of IPS-1987, is currently on Central deputation and posted in the National Security Council Secretariat.

Laltendu Mohanti of Orissa, IPS-1989 (J&K cadre), who is also holding the rank of DGP, is scheduled to retire 31 July 2023. Two more senior most IPS officers of the erstwhile J&K cadre, Dr B. Srinivas (1990) of Andhra Pradesh and Rashmi Ranjan Swain (1991) of Orissa, are also due to reach superannuation on 31 August 2024 and 30 September 2024, respectively. While Srinivas is currently posted as Commandant General Home Guard, Civil Defence & SDRF in J&K Government, Swain is functioning as Special DG CID.

With these retirements, almost all the senior most IAS and IPS officers of the erstwhile J&K cadre are due to move out of the service in 2023 and 2023. However, some of them could be retained and granted an extension ahead of the Lok Sabha elections of 2024. These would be the first major elections in J&K after the erstwhile State’s reorganisation into two UTs in August 2019.

Meanwhile, authoritative sources said that senior IAS officer, Dr. Mandeep Bhandari, and senior IPS officer Nitish Kumar, who have been recently repatriated to J&K upon completion of their Central deputation, are likely to be posted next week. While Bhandari served as Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Kumar served a 5-year-long term as IGP in the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Their posting may trigger yet another reshuffle of IAS and IPS officers in Jammu and Kashmir.