Guv’s Rule a Blessing in Disguise for IAS, KAS Officers in J&K

Bureaucratic circles attribute much of this boon to 1987-batch IAS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre, BVR Subrahmanyam.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra. 

(Photo: Shruti Mathur/The Quint)

Under the present Governor NN Vohra’s rule over Jammu and Kashmir, sons of soil from the region who’re in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), as well as in the indigenous Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS), are now found to be holding key posts in the civil administration and bureaucracy. This comes as a sharp contrast to previous other governments that had ruled over the region in the last 35 years.

Bureaucratic circles attribute this development to BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir. Subrahmanyam is a 1987-batch IAS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre, who replaced BB Vyas, the 1986-batch IAS officer of J&K cadre, on 20 June.

Interestingly, Vyas vacated for the fresh entrant within weeks of getting one-year extension to his service as Chief Secretary in J&K, in relaxation of rules from the Centre.

Vyas, along with a retired IAS officer of J&K cadre, Khursheed Ahmad Ganai, and retired IPS officer of South India, K Vijay Kumar, is currently functioning as Advisor to Governor. They are members of the State Administrative Council, equivalent of Cabinet in Governor’s rule, that takes decisions at the highest level.

In the last seven weeks of Governor’s rule, Vohra and Subrahmanyam have done for the local IAS and KAS officers what probably none of the Chief Ministers had to their credit since 1982. This has raised some eyebrows and ruffled some feathers among the IAS officers from different states who enjoyed a sort of monopoly in bureaucracy and civil administration in J&K for ages.

Officers All Praise for ‘Self Rule’

But, at the same time, local officers are all in praise for what some of them call “autonomy” and “self-rule”.

Greater autonomy and Self Rule were the slogans of NC and PDP. But neither of them gave this much of empowerment and dignity to the local officers.

KAS Officer

He pointed out that successive governments of Congress, NC and PDP continued to be indifferent to the local officers’ induction into IAS.

“Many of us had been brooding over disempowerment of the local officers since decades. They used to whisper against the outsiders. Some of them used to privately berate our IAS colleagues from outside as East India Company. Many of them are now relieved and more than satisfied. It’s an irony that none of the Chief Ministers and our champions of autonomy and self-rule gave it to us in the last over three decades,” said a local IAS officer.

‘Credit to Governor Vohra’

“Credit for this empowerment of the local officers goes unmistakably to Governor Vohra and his Chief Secretary,” retired IAS officer, Khwaja Bashir Ahmad, now holding a job with the GST Council at the Centre, told The Quint.

He added that Vohra has posted a number of senior KAS officers as Commissioner-Secretary as against the inferior posting of ‘Secretary in Department’ during the political regimes.

Of the 19 J&K officers holding top positions in bureaucracy and civil administration, as many as 14 are now administrative secretaries. They include two Principal Secretaries, 5 Commissioner-Secretaries and 7 Secretaries to Government.

Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon (IAS-1993) is Principal Secretary Animal and Sheep Husbandry departments with additional charge of Transport department. Dr Pawan Kotwal (IAS-1994) is Principal Secretary Health and Medical Education.

Khursheed Ahmad Shah (KAS-184/IAS-2000) is Commissioner-Secretary Public Works (R&B). Shahid Anayatullah (KAS-1984/IAS-2000) is Commissioner-Secretary Revenue. Hilal Ahmad Parray (KAS-1984/IAS-2001) is Commissioner-Secretary General Administration Department (GAD).

Dr Abdul Rashid (KAS inductee) is Commissioner-Secretary Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs. Mohammad Merajuddin Khan (KAS inductee) of Leh is Commissioner-Secretary Administrative Reforms and Inspections.

Rigzin Samphel, also from Leh, a 2003-batch IAS officer of UP cadre on deputation in his home state, is administrative Secretary of Tourism and Education.

Samphel, who was previously inducted as Special Secretary to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, was mentioned by The Economist in 2008 as “one of the most hard working bureaucrats in the world” for his brilliant performance in implementation of several government programmes.

Farooq Ahmad Shah (KAS inductee/IAS-2004) is administrative Secretary Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control departments besides Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.

Manzoor Ahmad Lone (KAS inductee/IAS-2005) is Secretary to Government Agriculture Production and Horticulture. Mohammad Javed Khan (KAS inductee/IAS-2005) is Secretary Youth Services and Sports and Technical Education. Sarmad Hafeez (KAS inductee/IAS-2009) is Special Secretary Information, holding charge of Secretary Information. Farooq Ahmad Lone (KAS inductee/IAS-2009) is Special Secretary Social Welfare, holding charge of Secretary Social Welfare.

Mohammad Saleem Shishgar (KAS inductee) is Commissioner-Secretary Culture, Floriculture, Gardens and Parks.

In addition to these 14 administrative Secretaries, Anil Gupta (KAS) is a Secretary in Housing and Urban Development Department.

In the latest reshuffle, Talat Parvaiz Rohella (KAS-1999) has been appointed as Excise Commissioner. Zubair Ahmad (KAS-1999) stands posted as Chairman J&K State Service Board.

In another uncommon development, both the Divisional Commissioners — Baseer Ahmad Khan (Kashmir) and Sanjeev Varma (Jammu) — are also permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to sources, Governor’s administration has, of late, recalled Atal Dulloo (IAS-1989), currently Joint Secretary in union Rural Development Department, from Central deputation. Dulloo is likely to be posted as Principal Secretary in a key department.

Among the 12 Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in Kashmir Division, 10 are from J&K. They include Dr Sehrish Asgar (IAS), who is a permanent resident and currently on deputation from Punjab Government. In Jammu Division, 6 of the 10 DCs are permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.