The Rajasthan government transferred 62 IAS officers  in a major administrative reshuffle. This reshuffle has been done with the aim of streamlining the state administrative system and increasing efficiency in various departments. There has been a major change in the responsibilities of many senior officers, prominent names of which include Akhil Arora, Aparna Arora, Alok Gupta, Kuldeep Ranka and Anand Kumar.

Senior IAS Akhil Arora, who has been handling the Finance Department for five years, has now been appointed as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) in the Water Supply Department. A new officer is likely to be appointed in his place in the Finance Department soon. At the same time, Aparna Arora has been transferred from the Forest Department and made ACS in the Social Justice and Empowerment Department.

Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Alok Gupta has also been given a new responsibility. He has now been appointed as the Principal Secretary of the Industries Department. Alok Gupta is counted among the trusted officers of the Chief Minister and now he will take charge of policy reforms in the industrial sector.

Kuldeep Ranka, who was the Principal Secretary to former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, has been removed from the Social Justice Department and has now been given the responsibility of ACS in the Higher and Technical Education Department. Ranka has held important posts during Gehlot's tenure for a long time.

A major change has also been made in the Home Department in this reshuffle. Anand Kumar has been removed from the Home Department after about two and a half years and made ACS Forest. He was appointed in the Home Department in October 2022 during the tenure of the Gehlot government and after promotion, the Bhajanlal government also gave him the same responsibility. Now he has been removed and given the command of the Forest Department

The 11 districts whose collectors have been transferred by the government include Phalodi, Hanumangarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jhunjhunu, Kotputli-Baharod, Tonk, Deedwana-Kuchaman, Bharatpur, Kota, Rajsamand and Beawar.

The government has appointed senior IAS officer Bhaskar A Sawant as ACS Home in place of Anand Kumar. Along with this, Vaibhav Galaria has been appointed as Principal Secretary Finance.

Ajitabh Sharma, who was till now the Principal Secretary in the Industry Department, has now been given the responsibility of the Energy Department. During his tenure, the 'Rising Rajasthan' conference was organized. Devashish Prishti, who was Deputy Chief of Mission in the Indian Mission in Brussels, has been sent as Principal Secretary, UDH (Urban Development and Housing) Department. He was till now working in the Finance Department.

Ravi Jain, who was till now handling the Tourism Department, has now been appointed as the Secretary of the Autonomous Government Department. Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation Commissioner Rukmini Riar has been transferred and posted as Commissioner in the Tourism Department. Qamar Ul Zaman Chaudhary has been appointed as the Collector of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma's home district Bharatpur. He was till now working as Joint Secretary in the Water Supply Department and has previously been the Dausa Collector.

IAS Hanuman Mal Dhaka, who was APOed on charges of bribery, has been appointed by the government as the Director of Departmental Investigation. Dhaka is accused of demanding a bribe of Rs 25 lakh in exchange for land conversion while he was the Dudu collector. The ACB had registered an FIR in this case and also raided his office. After this, the government APOed him on 27 April. After about two months, he has been given responsibility once again.

Meanwhile, both the posts of Collector and SP have become vacant in Jhunjhunu district. Collector Ramavatar Meena has been transferred and made the Director of Departmental Investigation, but no new officer has been appointed in his place. At the same time, the post of Jhunjhunu SP is already vacant, due to which there is a lack of administrative leadership in the district.(rr)