In Haryana, questions raised as 1 IAS officer occupies 3 top posts

A senior officer in the state government told The Indian Express on Thursday that though the rules do not debar any officer from holding three top posts, “it’s against propriety ahead of the polls”.

“Ideally, the posts of chief secretary, FCR and home secretary should be handled by different persons as per the previous practice and better distribution of the administrative work. The home secretary looks after the police department, which means all top IPS officers, including the DGP and the SPs, come under his administrative control. Similarly, all DCs and commissioners report to the FCR. And the chief secretary is overall in-charge of the state administration. If all these three posts are handled by one officer, then virtually the entire administration is reporting to him,” added the officer.

Another senior IAS officer who spoke to The Indian Express requesting anonymity said that he was unable to recall a precedent when any officer handled such top posts simultaneously. “It is difficult for a single officer to handle… because these are very important and heavy portfolios in terms of workload and responsibilities,” the officer added.

However, the Haryana chief minister’s media secretary Praveen Attrey said that there was no rule that said 2-3 departments cannot be handed over to one officer. “It is the prerogative of the government…what assignment has to be handed over to which officer,” Attrey added.

A 1988-batch IAS officer, Prasad has been looking after the state home department since August 2022. In September 2023, the government gave him the responsibility of additional chief secretary (revenue) with additional charge of home secretary.

As the chief secretary, Prasad is looking after important departments including general administration, human resources, personnel and training, parliamentary affairs and vigilance.

Hemant Kumar, an advocate of Punjab and Haryana High Court who keeps an eye on the administrative developments in the state, has urged the Election Commission (EC) to direct the state government to appoint a regular chief secretary and appoint a regular home secretary instead of handing over additional charges to an officer for these key assignments. According to Kumar, he has written to the EC seeking its intervention in the matter.

“It is not wise and appreciable, especially during the entire exercise/process of the general election to 18th Lok Sabha for which the model code of conduct has already come into force since March 16 late afternoon,” he added.

Apart from all deputy commissioners (DCs), Prasad, as financial commissioner (revenue) is also the administrative head of all sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs). During the Lok Sabha elections, DCs look after the responsibilities of returning officers (ROs) and SDMs play the role of assistant returning officers (AROs). As home secretary, Prasad will also be supervising the law and order angle.

Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Agarwal was not available for comment. An official of the state government told The Indian Express that the government has not received any directive or communication from the Election Commission till now.

Notably, the Haryana government had changed the chief secretary just three days after the state had witnessed a change of chief minister on March 12 when the BJP replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini.

A 1986-batch IAS officer, Sanjeev Kaushal had proceeded on leave till July 30 this year. His retirement is due on July 31 this year. After Kaushal, Prasad is the seniormost IAS officer in Haryana. Normally, the government appoints the seniormost IAS officer as the chief secretary, save a few exceptions. Prasad is due to retire on October 31 this year.

Departments handled by T V S N Prasad

*Chief secretary (additional charge): General administration, human resources, personnel and training, parliamentary affairs, vigilance, plan coordination

*Financial commissioner (Revenue): Revenue, disaster management and consolidation

*Home Secretary (additional charge): Home, jails, criminal investigation and administration of justice

*Chief resident commissioner, Haryana Bhawan, New Delhi