Nayab Singh Saini Strengthens Leadership: Rajesh Khullar Appointed Chief Principal Secretary Amid Broader Administrative Moves

Nayab Singh Saini Strengthens Leadership: Rajesh Khullar Appointed Chief Principal Secretary Amid Broader Administrative Moves

Retired IAS Rajesh Khullar Appointed as Chief Principal Secretary to Haryana CM Naib Singh Saini

In a significant administrative move, the Haryana government appointed retired IAS officer Rajesh Khullar as the Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini on October 18, 2024. The appointment was formalized through an official order issued by Chief Secretary T.V.S.N. Prasad. Khullar, a 1988-batch IAS officer, will hold the rank and status of a cabinet minister during his tenure, aligning with the current term of the Chief Minister. Specific details regarding his tenure and service conditions are expected to be issued in a subsequent order.

This appointment marks Khullar’s return to the Haryana Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), where he had previously served as the Chief Principal Secretary to former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in September 2023. Khullar had then succeeded retired IAS officer D.S. Dhesi, who had held the post for three years. Dhesi, upon being relieved from his duties as Chief Principal Secretary, was appointed to a newly created role as the Principal Advisor for Urban Development in the state.

Khullar’s association with the Chief Minister’s Office is not new. From November 2015 to October 2020, during his IAS tenure, he had served as Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Khattar, building a strong rapport and gaining valuable experience in handling high-level administrative responsibilities.

The legitimacy of appointing retired IAS officers to key positions within the Chief Minister’s Office has been a topic of legal discussions in the past. In October 2020, the Haryana government amended the rules governing the functioning of the Secretariat, paving the way for retired IAS or other officers to be appointed to high-ranking positions in the CMO. This amendment allowed for positions such as Chief Principal Secretary, Additional Principal Secretary, and Deputy Principal Secretary, among others, to be filled by retired officials, granting them the authority to communicate directives on behalf of the Chief Minister. This policy change facilitated the appointment of D.S. Dhesi as the Chief Principal Secretary at the time.

The state’s IAS cadre posts, as approved by the central government in December 2018, include positions such as Principal Secretary, Special Principal Secretary, Additional Principal Secretary, and Deputy Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. However, the post of Chief Principal Secretary is not part of the official IAS cadre, making it a non-cadre position that the state government is legally empowered to create.

Presently, the Haryana CMO is staffed by senior IAS officers, including V. Umashankar, who serves as Principal Secretary, and Amit Aggarwal and Ashima Barar, who hold positions as Additional Principal Secretaries. Khullar’s appointment as Chief Principal Secretary adds another layer of senior-level expertise to the Chief Minister’s team.

The practice of appointing retired IAS officers to key government positions is not unique to Haryana. In March 2017, when Captain Amarinder Singh assumed the role of Chief Minister of Punjab, he appointed retired IAS officer Suresh Kumar as his Chief Principal Secretary. Although this appointment was initially challenged and declared invalid by a single bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in January 2018, citing violations of Article 166(3) of the Constitution, the court’s decision was later stayed by a division bench in February 2018. Suresh Kumar continued to serve in the role until Captain Amarinder Singh stepped down as Chief Minister in September 2021. Eventually, the division bench upheld the validity of Kumar’s appointment in April 2022.

At the national level, the appointment of retired IAS officers to high-ranking positions has been seen during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure. In 2014, Modi appointed retired IAS officer Nripendra Misra as his Principal Secretary. Later, in September 2019, retired Gujarat cadre IAS officer Pramod Kumar Misra was appointed as the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, a position he continues to hold. Similarly, during the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Brajesh Mishra, a retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, served as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Rajesh Khullar’s appointment as Chief Principal Secretary to Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini reflects the state government’s strategic approach to strengthen its administrative leadership by leveraging the experience of seasoned retired officers. This move is not only in line with past practices but also reinforces the trend of appointing retired officials to key positions to ensure efficient governance and continuity in leadership.

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