A quick check on who are in-charge of various ministries as many secretaries are holidaying during this Christmas and New Year

MANY top bureaucrats in India heading various ministries and departments have gone on long leave during this festive season of Christmas and New Year forcing the department of personnel and training (DoPT) to announce their replacements for this period. The secretaries who are on leave now include Alka Sirohi, a 1974 batch MP cadre IAS and secretary, department of food and public distribution, AK Upadhyay, a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS and secretary in the department of youth affairs, C Balakrishnan, a 1974 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS and secretary, ministry of coal and Dr M Ramachandran, a 1972 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS and secretary of urban development ministry.
Now, secretaries of other ministries are being given additional charge of the ministries and departments where the top bureaucrats are on long leave. Rajiv Aggarwal, a 1975 batch Maharashtra cadre and secretary in the department of consumer affairs, for example, is given additional charge of the post of secretary in the department of food and public distribution during the absence on leave of Ms Sirohi from December, 25, 2009 to January 3, 2010. Ms Sindhushree Khullar, a 1975 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS and secretary in the department of sports will hold additional charge of the post of secretary, department of youth affairs during the absence on leave of Mr Upadhyay from December 23, 2009 to January 3, 2010.
Similarly, R Bandyopadhyay, a 1974 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and secretary, ministry of corporate affairs was given additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of minority affairs during the absence on leave of Vivek Mehrotra, a 1974 batch Haryana cadre IAS from December 12, 2009 to December 20, 2009. DK Sikri, a 1975 batch Gujarat cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of women and child development will hold additional charge of the post of secretary in the ministry of coal during the absence on leave of Mr Balakrishnan for a period of three months or until further orders.
Also, Ms Kiran Dhingra, a 1975 batch Uttarakhand cadre IAS and secretary in the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation, is holding additional charge of the post of secretary, ministry of urban development during the absence on leave of Dr Ramachandran from December 21, 2009 to January 8, 2010. Dr Ramachandran is now in US on a personal visit.

Action and Appointments
SC Srivastava, a 1976 batch Central Secretariat Service officer has been appointed as joint secretary in the department of justice till the date of his superannuation on November 30, 2011, from the date of taking over charge of the post or until further orders.

Mayawati for a police training centre in Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Ms Mayawati has asked the concerned officials to initiate the process for setting up of a police training centre in Lucknow without any delay. The move is to set up the police training centre on 90 acres of land at Mohanlalganj area in the city, a state government government release said. She also directed that the vacant police posts should immediately be filled up to ensure better law and order situation in the state.

Govt liaison officers to gather at Cochin on August 24 to participate in a training programme on reservation policy

LIAISON officers of various government departments and ministries would get together at hotel Taj Malabar in Cochin from August 24 to 26 to participate in a residential training on reservation policy of the government with regards to ST, SC and OBCs. The department of personnel & training (DoPT) has issued a letter to government ministries and departments to “take advantage” of the training programme by nominating their liaison officers for the training to be imparted by the Institute of Public Administration, Bangalore. It’s felt that even after 12 years of the government introducing the post-based rosters, liaison officers of the government departments have not understood what should be done with regards to reservation policy. In fact, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in the case of R K Sabharwal Vs State of Punjab, and also in J Mullick Vs ministry of railways had held that the reservation of jobs for the backward classes should apply to posts and not to vacancies. Various government departments and ministries are now requested to send their nominees along with the non-refundable fee of Rs 17,648 per participant. The participants who desire to stay in an independent room and wish to bring their spouse, would be required to pay all inclusive an additional amount of Rs 8,000/- at the time of checking-in at the hotel towards the boarding and lodging of the spouse, a letter from IPA, Bangalore said. Action & Appointments 1) Arun Mishra, a 1986 batch West Bengal cadre IAS and currently joint secretary in the ministry of civil aviation has been appointed as Representative of India on the Council of International Civil Aviation Organisation, Montreal, Canada, at the level of joint secretary, in the Pay Band of Rs 37400-67000/- (PB-4) plus grade pay of Rs 10000/-, for a period of three years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders. 2) S Kishore, a 1989 batch West Bengal cadre IAS has been appointed as Development Commissioner (joint secretary level), in Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (APIC) at Achutapuram, Vishakhapatnam under the department of commerce. 3) Rajiv Aggarwal, a 1975 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS and presently the Managing Director in National Cooperative Development Corporation under the department of agriculture and cooperation has been appointed as secretary in the department of consumer affairs. 4) Ms Leela K Ponappa’s tenure as Deputy National Security Adviser and secretary, National Security Council Secretariat has been extended on contract basis for three months with effect from July 16, 2009.