Khattar overrules Vij to appoint IPS officer as transport secretary
CHANDIGARH: Overruling his cabinet colleague and home minister, Anil Vij, Haryana chief minister (CM) Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday ordered the appointment of IPS officer Kala Ramachandran as principal secretary, Transport, a cadre post of the Indian administrative service (IAS).
As per the appointment orders issued on Sunday, Ramachandran was posted as principal secretary, transport, in addition to additional director general of police, crime against women.
The home minister had objected to the proposal of appointing an IPS officer on a cadre post designated for IAS officers, citing IAS cadre rules which required the state government to take prior approval of the Central government under rule 9 (2)(c). The home minister had also said that the IPS officer should not be relieved from the police department and posted to a cadre post of IAS officers till the department of personnel and training (DOPT) of central government grants approval in this regard.
‘CM does not agree with the home minister’ Ordering the appointment of IPS officer, chief principal secretary to the CM, DS Dhesi wrote that the CM does not agree with the home minister. Dhesi also wrote that prior approval of the Central government will be taken if it is proposed to continue the IPS officer who is a non-cadre officer beyond a period of three months.
Chief secretary Vijai Vardhan too had raised objections on appointments of non-cadre officers to the cadre posts of the IAS. Vardhan had communicated that if the appointment of nine non-cadre officers (IPS, IFS and IRS) to the cadre posts of IAS has to continue, then the state government should seek mandatory approval of the central government or replace them with IAS officers. The central government had also sought the comments of the Haryana government on the issue after the state government had appointed nine Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Forests Service (IFS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers to the cadre posts of IAS.
Rule 9(2)(c) of the IAS Cadre Rules state that if a select list is not in force and it is proposed to appoint a non-select list officer, the state government shall forthwith make a proposal to that effect to the central government together with the reasons thereof and the appointment shall be made only with the prior approval of the central government. The rules also state that a cadre post in a state shall not be filled by a person who is not a cadre officer except if there is no suitable cadre officer available for filling the vacancy.
Also, if it is proposed to continue the person who is not a cadre officer beyond a period of three months, the state government shall obtain the prior approval of the central government.