V Umashankar is new road transport secretary

NEW DELHI: In a senior level bureaucratic reshuffle at Centre, govt appointed Haryana cadre IAS V Umashankar , former Haryana CM M L Khattar's and incumbent chief minister Nayab Singh Saini's principal secretary, as road transport and highways secretary on Saturday. Rajasthan cadre IAS Tanmay Kumar has been designated as the next environment and forest secretary from Jan 1.

As per approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), 1990 batch IAS from West Bengal cadre Subrata Gupta has been appointed as food processing secretary and he will take charge from Dec 1. A 1991 batch IAS from Tamil Nadu cadre, S Gopalakrishnan has been appointed as the chairman of Staff Selection Commission. His batchmate Puneet Kumar Goel of AGMUT cadre, currently serving as Goa chief secretary has been appointed as secretary of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

Besides Umashankar and Kumar, three other IAS officers from the 1993 batch have been appointed as secretary or in secretary level posts. They are Vikram Dev Dutt of AGMUT cadre, who is currently serving as director general of civil aviation (DGCA), appointed as coal secretary, Maharashtra cadre IAS Surendra Kumar Bagde as DG, National Centre for Good Governance and Haryana cadre IAS Neerja Sekhar as special secretary in the I&B ministry.

The Haryana govt on Friday suddenly put its order of appointing former IAS Rajesh Khullar as chief principal secretary to CM "in abeyance till further orders" barely hours after appointment order was notified.