Hyderabad:Several senior bureaucrats are in the race to become the first Chief Secretary of Telangana.
As the June 2, 2014, bifurcation deadline nears, senior officers from the state cadre, besides from other states and central cadre, are vying for the coveted post. Senior bureaucrats of the state cadre, Lakshmi Parthasarathy, (1980 batch), M.G. Gopal, V.K. Agarwal and V. Nagi Reddy, all from 1983 batch, are said to be the front-runners for the post.
However, Ms Parthasarathy is set to retire in February 2015. With just about nine months of tenure left, it remains to be seen whether the new Telangana government will consider her for the top post.
Besides, bureaucrats from other states’ cadre such as Chandana Khan (1979 batch), A.K. Parida (1980 batch), S.P. Tucker (1980 batch) and Rajeev Sharma (1982 batch) are also vying for the post.
Mr Sharma played a crucial role in the drafting of the AP Reorganisation Bill-2014. He is now serving as additional secretary in the Union home ministry.
However, the Centre is yet to come out with the guidelines for allotment of IAS officers to both the states, leaving officials confused about which state to opt for.
Ms Khan and Mr Nagi Reddy have already met TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister designate, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and urged him to consider them for the CS’ post.
Senior bureaucrats are also competing to get postings in the Chief Minister’s Office as special Chief Secretaries.
There are also speculations among bureaucratic circles that Mr Rao is keen on appointing S. Narsing Rao from Telangana, a 1986 batch IAS officer as CS. He is now working as chairman of Coal India Ltd. Sources said Mr Rao took up the issue with Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, when he met him for the second time on Monday and urged him to use his good offices to transfer Mr Rao from the centre to state cadre.
