Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Union Home Minister Ajay Kumar Bhalla are very special among the senior bureaucracy of the central government. They get extended service all the time. The Lok Sabha election results will come on June 4. After that, the process of forming a new government at the center will begin. The discussion has already started whether the process of giving extension in service to these two senior officials will continue in the new central government after the Lok Sabha elections. Both these top bureaucrats are due to retire in August 2024.
Currently the two bureaucrats are on extension. Experts say that since they have been extended in service several times, the new government may give a chance to other officers. If the present government at the center gets another chance, then these officials may get big responsibilities after retirement.
These two officials of Modi government are also called trouble solvers of the government in many matters. These two bureaucrats played an important role in many important government decisions like abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. These officials also played an important role in dealing with the situations that emerged in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. These ‘solvent’ bureaucrats also got huge rewards from the government in the form of extension of service. Rajiv Gauba, Cabinet Secretary in the Central Government, has become the longest serving official till date.
Then this record will be made
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba is a 1982 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand. He was appointed Secretary of the Government in 2019 for two years. Before that he was the Union Home Minister. Rajeev Gauba received his first service extension in 2021. In August 2022, he was again granted a one-year extension. Last year he was given a third extension of service. He will continue to work as Cabinet Secretary until August 30 this year. Last year, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) granted a one-year extension of service to Rajiv Gauba under the AIS (DCRB) Rules, 1958. After completing this term, he will become the longest-serving bureaucrat in the country’s Cabinet Secretary.
Rajiv Gauba is a senior bureaucrat
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba played an important role in drafting the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act. Since he worked as the Minister of the Interior before becoming the Cabinet Secretary. Gauba played a special role in the draft prepared to remove Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Rajiv Gauba has special expertise in creating better coordination between the Central Secretariat, PMO and various ministries. Before joining the central government, he represented India on the board of the International Monetary Fund. Rajiv Gauba also played a special role in the schedule prepared for the Union Ministers’ visit to Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
Ajay Bhalla gets a fourth service extension
Ajay Kumar Bhalla, a 1984-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was appointed as the Union Home Minister in August 2019. Bhalla was supposed to retire in November 2020, but before that the central government extended his tenure till 22 August 2021 by giving him One year extension in October 2020. He was then given a second and third service extension. Bhalla is considered a confidant of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Last year he was given a fourth extension of service till 22 August 2024. Ajay Bhalla made a special contribution in handling the situation in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. Many important decisions taken regarding Jammu and Kashmir, Naxal affected areas and North East were drafted by Bhalla .
A former officer raised questions about the extension of service
Regarding the extension of service for the officers in the center, the former Shavas and MLA Ishubordan Azad, who retired from the position of ‘security’ secretary from the government secretariat, raised questions about the extension of service of the said officials. He believed that an extension of service should not be given in this manner. It is okay when there is an emergency in the country. The government may not have had time to publish the transfer. Granting extension of service to a retired officer affects the interests of many other officers. The seniority of many officers is ending. Do some officers get extended service due to political interests? The official may also have his own interest. People have a right to know if a person has an extension, what are the reasons behind it. What is special about that person? The government should tell people about it. Officials get their salaries from people’s taxes, so they should know why the government is giving an extension to some officer.
