BR Sharma being appointed as Chief Secretary today

Political parties across the board support a State subject who has been the most nonaligned and uncontroversial bureaucrat throughout his IAS career

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

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SRINAGAR, Sep 6: Principal Secretary Planning & Development, a son of the soil in bureaucracy and the 1984-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Brij Raj Sharma, is tipped to be appointed as Chief Secretary in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, following the 1978-batch IAS officer Mohammad Iqbal Khandey’s differences with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and some Cabinet Ministers that culminated into his voluntary retirement.

Chief Minister is scheduled to preside over a crucial meeting of his Cabinet in the forenoon on Monday that would take a call on selection of the next Chief Secretary. Even as the Cabinet would hold a brief discussion on the five seniormost IAS officers---four of them holding rank equivalent to that of Chief Secretary---highly placed sources in the PDP-BJP government revealed to STATE TIMES that there was “total consensus” on the nomination of Mr B.R. Sharma between the coalition partners.

More significantly, both the principal opposition parties, National Conference and Congress, have made it clear with their sustained silence publicly and private conversations in the last over a week that neither of them would oppose picking up the juniormost of the panel for a host of reasons.

Of the four IAS officers senior to Mr Sharma, Financial Commissioner Revenue and the 1979-batch IAS officer Dr Arun Kumar is the only potential contender as he alone has 16 months of his active service. “He is definitely a diligent IAS officer but two particular factors will go against him: A PDP-led coalition will essentially prefer a State subject and Dr Kumar is from outside; Nobody would run the risk of making him CS in a Muslim-dominated State as he has a negative baggage from the communal strife of 2008 attached to him”, said a Cabinet Minister about Dr Kumar.

The second in the row, Dr Kumar’s wife and 1979 IAS batch-mate, Sonali Kumar, has less than three months to her superannuation. She is currently posted as Chairperson of Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal. A network of the State bureaucrats promoted by Mr Khandey is calling the shots even after his retirement and this lobby has been virulently against Mr and Mrs Kumar for over a decade.

The third in the row and the 1980-batck IAS officer, Ashok Kumar Angurana, has only 8 months of his active service and would not ordinarily prefer to return to his State as he is already posted as Secretary (Panchayati Raj Institutions) in the Government of India.

The fourth seniormost State bureaucrat and 1982-batch IAS officer, Khursheed Ahmad Ganai, is apparently a hard contender but he is due to retire from active service on October 31, 2015. Besides, Chief Minister Mufti has not favoured him for Chairmanship of the prestigious Public Service Commission. Currently posted as Financial Commissioner Industries, Mr Ganai would have to be appointed as DG IMPA in case Cabinet decides to pick up his junior for the seniormost position of Chief Secretary.

Sources revealed that a top government functionary was likely to take the opposition parties NC and Congress on board for Mr Sharma’s appointment. However, nobody by this evening had established contact with the opposition. While the NC President Omar Abdullah’s phone was continuously switched off, Congress legislature party leader Nawang Rigzin Jora did not respond to calls from this newspaper.

President of J&K Pradesh Congress Committee and former Minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir, told STATE TIMES that his party would not oppose B.R. Sharma’s appointment as CS. “He has been undoubtedly the most non-controversial and non-aligned IAS officer and popular equally among all political parties. Besides, he is the only one in the lot who has about five years of service left to his retirement. His being a son of the soil and a resident of Jammu will also go to his advantage”, Mir asserted.

“Seniority is a qualification but a couple of Mr Sharma’s seniors have been pretty controversial. It will be difficult for any government to pick them up for the post of CS. But if the PDP-BJP government goes by the seniority alone, we won’t object”, Mir added. He said that “seniority and suitability” is an indispensable combination in the selection of senior officers like CS and DGP. “Someone who has just a few months to retire, doesn’t take much interest in implementation of the government directions. One seldom delivers at the fag end of service”, Mir said.

A senior NC leader, who wished to remain unidentified, pointed out that even when C Phonsog and B.R. Kundal were appointed as Chief Secretary by the former PDP-Congress government, “suitability” had prevailed over seniority.

That all decks have been cleared for Mr Sharma’s appointment as CS was clear on Sunday evening from the fact that, unlike on August 21, he was not appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Monday’s meeting.

Top level sources in the government told STATE TIMES that Commissioner-Secretary General Administration Department, Gazanfer Hussain, would function as Cabinet Secretary in tomorrow’s meeting. “This is a clear indication that Mr Sharma is the coalition government’s choice by consensus”, said a senior government functionary. “Someone, whose appointment or elevation is to be considered by the Cabinet, can’t attend that particular meeting as Cabinet Secretary”.

In absence of Mr Khandey, Mr Sharma had attended the August 21 meeting as Cabinet Secretary.

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