Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka transferred for 55th time in 30-year-long career

The 1991-batch IAS officer’s transfer comes days after he reportedly wrote to Haryana Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal, indicating that he didn’t have enough work following the merger of his Science and Technology Department into the Higher Education Department. In the letter, he indicated that the workload in the Science and Technology Department “was not more than 2-3 hours per week”, sources who have seen the communication, said.

“It is suggested that an officer of the rank of ACS may be assigned department(s) with total workload of at least 40 hours a week. If there is no sufficient workload for cadre officers, non-cadre officers may be removed from Administrative Secretaries and repatriated to their own departments,” Khemka wrote, according to sources.

Khemka will replace Dr Raja Sekhar Vundru, a 1990-batch IAS officer in the Archives Department.

This is the fourth time that Khemka has been posted to the state’s Archives Department — three of these stints during the tenure of the BJP-led government in the state.

He had earlier served as Director General and later Principal Secretary of the Archives department. Khemka was first transferred to the department in 2013 when the Congress was in power in Haryana. He was last transferred out of Archives in October 2021. Khemka was promoted to the rank of Additional Chief Secretary in February 2022.

The IAS officer, whose career has been marked by controversies and frequent transfers, had in the past indicated some disappointment over having been “left behind” in his career.

After a round of promotions last October, he tweeted, “Congratulations to my batchmates newly appointed as Secretaries to GOI! While this is an occasion for merry, it brings equal measure of despondency for one’s own self having been left behind. Straight trees are always cut first”.

The HCS officers transferred in the administrative reshuffle include Manav Malik, Sub Divisional Officer (Civil) at Radaur, who has now been posted as Inquiry Officer with the State Agricultural Marketing Board.

Amit Kumar, Joint Director (Administration), Tourism was posted as Sub Divisional Officer (Civil), Radaur. Mayank Bhardwaj, Estate Officer, Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran, Kaithal and Kurukshetra is now City Magistrate, Rewari.

Devendra Sharma, City Magistrate, Rewari has become Sub Divisional Officer (Civil) in Kalayat.

(- with inputs from PTI)