Sanjay Gupta gets additional charge of Chief Secy, Prabodh Saxena appointed HPSEBL chairman hours after retirement

ACS Onkar Chand Sharma, who is in charge of the Tribal Development Department, has been given additional charge as Managing Director of the Ropeways and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation Ltd.

By: Express News Service

Updated: October 2, 2025 04:31 PM IST

2 min read

Prabodh Saxena, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, was appointed the chairman of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) for a three-year term. (Express photo)

The Himachal Pradesh government on Wednesday handed over additional charge of the Chief Secretary to Sanjay Gupta, a 1988-batch IAS officer and the senior-most officer of the state, after Prabodh Saxena vacated the post after his retirement on Tuesday.

However, within hours of his retirement, Saxena, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, was appointed the chairman of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) for a three-year term.

Gupta, who holds a diploma in management and a degree in civil engineering, was serving as the HPSEBL chairman, but was shifted to the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB) to accommodate Saxena.

“Till the notification of a permanent Chief Secretary, Gupta will hold the additional charge of Chief Secretary,” a senior government officer said.

Besides, Gupta has also been assigned the charge of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Town and Country Planning and Housing, replacing 1998-batch IAS officer Devesh Kumar.

Meanwhile, ACS Onkar Chand Sharma, who is in charge of the Tribal Development Department, has been given additional charge as Managing Director of the Ropeways and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation Ltd.

ACS Kamlesh Kumar Pant, a 1993-batch IAS officer, will serve as the ACS (Revenue) and Financial Commissioner (Revenue).

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Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told mediapersons, “Any IAS officer can be given the charge of officiating Chief Secretary.”

The names of 1988-batch Sanjay Gupta and 1993-batch Kamlesh Kumar Pant were among the front-runners for the post of Chief Secretary.

As per the notification, the new HPSEBL chairman, Saxena, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, will hold the rank, status, and responsibilities equivalent to those of the Chief Secretary and report to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

Gupta, too, will function under the administrative control of the chief minister and will hold the status and rank equivalent to that of the chief secretary.

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Additional Chief Secretary KK Pant, a 1993-batch IAS officer, was earlier holding the charge of HPSPCB.

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