In a minor reshuffle of bureaucrats on Wednesday, RJD leader Lalu Prasad’s two trusted IAS officials have been transferred to the departments held by his sons. The younger son Teajswi Yadav is the Deputy Chief Minister and also holds three ministries, including Road Construction, and the elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, too, holds three departments, including Health.
According to a government notification, Sudhir Kumar, an IAS officer of the 1982 batch waiting for a new assignment, has been made Principal Secretary of the Road Construction Department. Mr. Kumar, who has replaced Arun Kumar Singh, is said to be close to Mr. Lalu Prasad. Likewise, R.K. Mahajan, an IAS officer of the 1987 batch, has been moved from the Education Department to the Health Department as Principal Secretary. Mr. Mahajan had served as Executive Director (Public Grievances) in the Railway Ministry when Mr. Lalu Prasad held the portfolio during UPA-I.
After taking charge, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made the first change in the bureaucracy, bringing back Amir Subhani as Home Secretary, in place of Sudhir Kumar Rakesh. During the Assembly elections, Mr. Subhani was shifted out of the post he held for several years in keeping with an Election Commission directive.
Mr. Arun Kumar Singh has been shifted to the Water Resources Department. Vijay Prakash, Commissioner of Agriculture Production, has been given the additional charge of Vigilance Department, and D.S. Gangwar, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, has been transferred to the Education Department, but he will remain the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Bihar’s Resident Commissioner in New Delhi.
Brajesh Mehrotra, an IAS officer of the 1989 batch, has been transferred from the Health Department to the Cabinet Coordination Department, and K.K. Pathak of the 1990 batch, who was waiting for posting, has been made Principal Secretary in the Registration and Excise Department.
