Punjab reshuffle: Vishwajit Khanna is new Financial Commissioner Revenue

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 6

A major administrative reshuffle was effected in Punjab on Saturday with Vishwajit Khanna becoming the new Financial Commissioner, Revenue, relieving the state’s senior-most IAS officer, K B S Sidhu.

Khanna was the Financial Commissioner Development and has been hailed for the smooth procurement of wheat amid the COVID-induced curfew. The charge of Financial Commissioner Development has been given to Anirudh Tewari, who was in charge of the Finance department, and has just been promoted to the rank of Additional Chief Secretary.

The administrative reshuffle set the rumour mills working overtime in corridors of power as it comes at a time when the new Chief Secretary is to be decided well before August. This week, the incumbent chief Secretary, Karan Avtar Singh has reportedly also applied for the post of chairperson of Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority.

Sources in the government say that the reshuffle was on the cards for quite some time, but was held back after the pandemic broke out. It was earlier speculated that Tewari would be posted as the Financial Commissioner Taxation, but following the controversy surrounding the excise policy because of the lockdown, an old hand in excise department, A Venu Prasad was brought in at the last minute. Prasad also gets the charge of CMD, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, but his charge of Mines and Geology department has been given to Sarvjit Singh.

Among the other officers transferred today are K A P Sinha, who has been relieved from the charge of Principal Secretary Food and

Civil Supplies and is now in charge of the Finance department. K Siva Prasad replaces him in the Food and Civil Supplies department and Alok Shekhar gets Sinha’s additional charge of parliamentary affairs department.

Other than this, Amanpreet Kaur Sandhu is posted as ADC, Mansa, and PCS officer Rajesh Kumar Sharma is deputy principal secretary to chief minister.