By Arun Pratap SinghGarhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 1 Jan: With the beginning of the New Year, Uttarakhand is expected to witness a major bureaucratic reshuffle at the state and even district level since some of the senior officers are set to move to the Centre on deputation. Among them is Home and Personnel Secretary Shailesh Bagoli who has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Revenue, at the Centre. His deputation had been approved some time ago but it was formally cleared by the Centre’s DOPT yesterday and his posting has been finalised. Sources in the state administration admit that the some bureaucratic changes are imminent as a result of central deputations. They have also indicated that a major administrative overhaul may be on the cards.
With a little over a year left for the state assembly elections, bureaucratic appointments are likely to be made keeping this in mind. Sources have also indicated that a district level reshuffle is also likely soon for the same reason.
It may also be reminded here that with effect from today, which is the first day of the year, 2026, 8 IAS officers of the level of Additional Secretaries have been promoted as Secretaries, which will also necessitate the reshuffle. However, sources close to the Dhami Government indicate that some senior officers considered close to the CM may not be disturbed much despite having loads of charges. The IAS officers elevated to higher ranks are awaiting fresh and appropriate postings, while central deputations have begun creating vacancies in some of the most sensitive and influential departments, setting the stage for a comprehensive reshuffle likely very soon.
The Home Department and the Personnel Department are considered to be crucial and it will be interesting to see who is made the new Home Secretary after the departure of Shailesh Bagoli. Usually, the charge of Home Department is given to an officer of the level of Principal Secretary or Additional Chief Secretary since he is expected to deal with the top officers of the Police Department including the officers of the rank of DGP and ADG. In Uttarakhand, however, this tradition has not been strictly followed. Currently there are only three Principal Secretary level officers in the state.
Sources claimed that the preparations for a wider administrative reorganisation are already under way, with the government examining new portfolio distributions in line with seniority and experience. The exit of key officers for central assignments is expected to leave several high-profile positions vacant, necessitating a recalibration of responsibilities across the state secretariat. At present, Bagoli holds some of the most significant responsibilities in the state administration, including the Home and Personnel departments, apart from functioning as Secretary to the Chief Minister, making his move to the Centre a pivotal moment for the state’s governance structure.
It may also be shared that another senior IAS officer of the Uttarakhand cadre, Ashish Joshi, who is already on central deputation, has been assigned an important new responsibility in the Union Ministry of Education and he will continue to remain on Central deputation.
In addition to the newly promoted secretaries who are to be entrusted with charge of important portfolios, a parallel exercise is also underway to effect transfers at the district level. Preparatory work for the reshuffle of District Magistrates in multiple districts is reportedly nearing completion, pointing towards a simultaneous reconfiguration of field administration. Taken together, these developments suggest that January 2026 could witness one of the most extensive administrative reshuffles in Uttarakhand in recent years.
It may also be shared here that Principal Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram has been granted Super-time scale Level 15 (Rs 1,82,200 -2,24,100) with effect from today.
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