The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered a major administrative reshuffle involving 49 IAS and JKAS officers, bringing changes across district administration, public services, revenue, health, tourism and other key departments.
The transfers and postings, ordered with immediate effect, include Mamta Yadav’s appointment as Director, Information, J&K, Basharat Qayoom’s posting as Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Shaleen Kabra’s assignment of additional charge as Administrative Secretary, Revenue Department.
The reshuffle also changes the leadership of several districts and government bodies, including the Jammu Municipal Corporation, National Health Mission, J&K Services Selection Board and Jammu Development Authority.
Shaleen Kabra Gets Additional Revenue Charge
Shaleen Kabra (IAS: 1992: AGMUT), Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary), Jal Shakti Department, has been given additional charge as Administrative Secretary, Revenue Department.
He will continue to hold his existing additional responsibilities as Financial Commissioner, Revenue, J&K, and Administrative Secretary, Estates Department. With this change, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan has been relieved of the additional charge of the Revenue Department.
Dr Ashish Chandra Verma (IAS: 1994: AGMUT) has been transferred from the Tourism Department and appointed Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary), Agriculture Production Department.
Other senior-level changes include:
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Sarmad Hafeez (IAS: 2009: AGMUT) has been posted as Commissioner/Secretary, Youth Services and Sports Department, moving from Social Welfare.
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Ramesh Kumar (IAS: 2011: AGMUT) has been appointed Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department. He will also hold additional charge of the Culture Department and continue as Resident Commissioner, J&K Government, New Delhi.
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Naveen S L (IAS: 2012: AGMUT) has been appointed Commissioner of Enquiries, J&K, moving from the Civil Aviation Department.
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Avny Lavasa (IAS: 2013: AGMUT) has been posted as Secretary, Tourism Department. She will continue to hold additional charge of the Tribal Affairs Department.
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Anjali Sehrawat (IAS: 2013: AGMUT) has been appointed Secretary, Public Grievances Department, moving from the Jal Jeevan Mission.
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Vikas Kundal (IAS: 2013: AGMUT) has been appointed Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, with additional charge as Additional CEO, Jammu Metropolitan Regional Development Authority.
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Majid Khalil Ahmad Drabu (IAS: 2013: AGMUT) has been posted as Inspector General of Registration, J&K, relieving Dr Sagar Doifode Dattatray of the additional charge.
Key Changes in IT, Planning and Social Welfare
The reshuffle also reallocates responsibilities across several administrative departments.
Rahul Yadav (IAS: 2014: AGMUT) has been appointed Administrative Secretary, Information Technology Department. He will also retain additional charge as Managing Director of J&K Power Development Corporation Limited, while being relieved of the additional charge of Managing Director, JK Power Corporation Limited.
Owais Ahmed (IAS: 2014: AGMUT) has been posted as Administrative Secretary, Planning, Development and Monitoring Department, while continuing as Director, Skill Development, J&K.
Dr Sagar Doifode Dattatray (IAS: 2014: AGMUT) has been appointed Administrative Secretary, Social Welfare Department. He was previously serving as Special Secretary, Agriculture Production Department, and held additional responsibilities involving the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), JKCIP, Agristack and the Inspector General of Registration.
New Leadership for Jammu, Srinagar and District Administration
Several district-level postings have also changed under the latest order.
Dr Devansh Yadav (IAS: 2016: AGMUT) has been transferred from Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation, to Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri.
Rakesh Minhas (IAS: 2016: AGMUT), formerly Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, has been appointed CEO, State Health Agency, J&K, with additional charge as Managing Director of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission, J&K.
Shrikant Balasaheb Suse (IAS: 2016: AGMUT) has been appointed Chairman, J&K Services Selection Board, moving from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara.
Basharat Qayoom (IAS: 2016: Jharkhand cadre) has been transferred from Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama, and appointed Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation. He will also serve as CEO of the Special Purpose Vehicle for implementing the Srinagar Smart City Project.
Ayushi Sudan (IAS: 2017: AGMUT) has been appointed Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation, with additional charge as CEO, Jammu City SPV, and Mission Director, Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).
Minga Sherpa (IAS: 2017: AGMUT) has been transferred from Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, to Deputy Commissioner, Jammu.
Other district postings include:
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Akriti Sagar (IAS: 2016: AGMUT) — Managing Director, J&K Tourism Development Corporation, with additional charge as CEO, J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency.
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Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan (IAS: 2016: Rajasthan cadre) — Managing Director, National Health Mission, J&K.
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Faz Lul Haseeb (IAS: 2018: AGMUT) — Additional Secretary, Agriculture Production Department, with additional charge as Mission Director, HADP and JKCIP.
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Abhishek Sharma (IAS: 2018: Chhattisgarh cadre) — Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, moving from Rajouri.
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Rupesh Kumar (IAS: 2019: AGMUT) — Deputy Commissioner, Samba, moving from Jammu Development Authority.
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Jatin Kishore (IAS: 2020: AGMUT) — Deputy Commissioner, Budgam, moving from Ganderbal.
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M Shreya Singhal (IAS: 2020: AGMUT) — Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, moving from J&K Tourism Development Corporation.
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Ananth Dwivedi (IAS: 2021: AGMUT) — Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, moving from the State Health Agency and Revenue Department.
Mamta Yadav Appointed Director, Information
Mamta Yadav (IAS: 2021: AGMUT), who was awaiting a posting in the General Administration Department, has been appointed Director, Information, J&K.
Other appointments involving officers from the 2021 batch include:
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Mahima Madan — Additional District Development Commissioner, Anantnag, moving from Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kathua.
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Vidhu Shekhar — Vice Chairman, Jammu Development Authority, moving from Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jammu.
- Pranjal Hazarika — Director, J&K Archives, Archaeology and Museums, moving from Additional District Development Commissioner, Baramulla.
- Vivek Agarwal — Director, Employment, J&K, with additional charge as CEO, Mission YUVA, moving from Additional District Development Commissioner, Budgam.
- Ishita Rathi (IAS: 2022: AGMUT) has been appointed Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, replacing Vidhu Shekhar.
- Vikas Ahlawat (IAS: 2022: AGMUT) has been posted as Labour Commissioner, J&K, moving from Additional Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag.
More IAS Officers Receive New Assignments
The reshuffle also includes changes involving officers from the 2023 and 2024 batches.
- Prince Kumar (IAS: 2023: AGMUT) has been appointed Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, moving from Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Uri.
- Gaurav Yadav (IAS: 2024: AGMUT) has been posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Uri, while Seerat Baji (IAS: 2024: AGMUT) has been appointed Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Srinagar (West). Both were awaiting posting orders in the General Administration Department.
Additional changes include:
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Leena Padha (IAS: AGMUT) — Registrar, Cooperative Societies, J&K, moving from Mission Director, Skill Development Mission.
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Rajinder Singh Tara (IAS: AGMUT) — Secretary, Revenue Department, moving from the Forest, Ecology and Environment Department.
- Anoo Malhotra (IAS: AGMUT) — Mission Director, Jal Jeevan Mission, moving from Director General, Rural Sanitation, J&K.
- Md. Shafiq Chak, who was serving as Registrar, Cooperative Societies, has been directed to report to the General Administration Department for further posting.
JKAS Officers Also Transferred
The order also changes the assignments of several Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officers.
Kuldeep Krishan Sidha, formerly Director, J&K Archives, Archaeology and Museums, has been appointed Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama.
Charandeep Singh, who was serving as Labour Commissioner, J&K, has been posted as Deputy Commissioner, Shopian.
Other JKAS appointments include:
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Rakesh Kumar — Special Secretary, Lok Bhawan, moving from Additional Deputy Commissioner, Reasi.
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Sachin Jamwal — Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kathua, moving from Additional Secretary, JKPSC.
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Sushil Kesar — Additional Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, moving from Deputy CEO, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board.
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Irfan Bahadur — Assistant Commissioner (Revenue), Budgam, moving from Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Srinagar (West).
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Afroza Bano — Directed to await further posting orders in the General Administration Department, moving from Assistant Commissioner (Revenue), Budgam.
Broad Administrative Reshuffle Across J&K
The transfer order covers a wide range of responsibilities, from senior Secretariat positions to district administration and specialised public institutions. Changes have been made in revenue, health, tourism, social welfare, information, rural development, municipal administration and other areas.
With new officers taking charge of key districts and departments, the reshuffle marks a broad redistribution of administrative responsibilities across Jammu and Kashmir.