HYDERABAD: Who will be the next chief secretary of the State? The present Chief Secretary and 1984-batch IAS officer SK Joshi will retire on December 31. He is unlikely to get an extension.
If the State government wants to continue Joshi, it could extend his tenure by three months by obtaining permission from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which is under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
If Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao personally takes up the matter with Modi, Joshi may get an extension.
Rao is meeting the Prime Minister in Delhi on Tuesday. If he wants to continue Joshi for some more time, he may take up the issue with the Prime Minister during the current visit but according to sources, it is most unlikely.
Meanwhile, the names of several IAS officers, including those who are working in Delhi, are being tipped for the coveted post.
The names of special chief secretaries of energy and revenue Ajay Misra and Somesh Kumar and a 1983-batch IAS officer Binoy Kumar, who is currently on Central deputation, are doing the rounds for the post.
If the names of women officers are taken into consideration, the State may consider Chitra Ramachandran and Pushpa Subramanyam for the post.
According to sources, the government may not consider special chief secretaries BP Acharya and Suresh Chanda for the post. Another Special Chief Secretary of Environment and Forest Rajeshwar Tiwari will also retire in August 2020.
His name may also not be considered for the post. Among all the special chief secretaries of the State cadre BP Acharya is the seniormost.
However, his name was not considered by the government while posting Joshi as the Chief Secretary.
As the present TRS government has another four years and wants to implement various developmental and welfare schemes without any hitch, the possibility is that the officer who has three or more years of service may be selected for the post.