Mohan Bhulani (Dehradun): Uttarakhand’s bureaucracy is set for a major reshuffle over the next year, with a wave of retirements and promotions in the state government and police headquarters expected to reshape several key power centres. Several senior officers, ranging from the Chief Secretary to secretaries, DGs and DIGs, will retire from service, while a number of IAS and IPS officers will be handed bigger responsibilities. Promotions effective from January 1, 2027, will bring in a new leadership team for the state’s administration and police force.
The biggest change in the IAS cadre will be at the top, with current Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan retiring in June 2027. At the secretary level, Umesh Narayan Pandey will retire in February 2027, while Vinay Shankar Pandey and Suresh Narayan Pandey will step down in June 2027. To fill these vacancies, several officers will be promoted from January 1, 2027. Officers of the 1997 batch, who have completed 30 years of service, will be elevated to the rank of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) — this list includes Ramesh Kumar Sudhanshu and L. Fanai. Officers of the 2002 batch, having completed 25 years of service, will be promoted to Principal Secretary rank, including Nitesh Jha, Radhika Jha (pro-forma promotion), Shailesh Bagauli and Senthil Pandian (pro-forma promotion). Additionally, 2011-batch officers will be promoted to secretary level, including Nitin Bhadauria, Lalit Mohan Ryal, Karmendra Singh (recently reinstated from suspension) and Ashish Kumar Srivastava (pro-forma promotion). Two of these officers are currently serving as District Magistrates (DMs) in various districts.
The police department will also see significant changes. DG P.V.K. Prasad will retire within the next nine months. Additionally, SP Harish Verma will retire in July 2027, DIG Mukesh Kumar in October 2027, and IG Yogendra Singh Rawat in November 2027. To fill these positions, promotions in the IPS cadre will also take effect from January 1, 2027. Officers of the 1997 batch, who have completed 30 years of service, will be promoted to DG rank — this includes Amit Sinha, V. Murugesan and Sanjay Gunjyal (pro-forma promotion). However, the government will need to create additional ex-cadre posts to accommodate these promotions. Officers of the 2013 batch, Tripti Bhatt and Ramchandra Rajguru, will be given command at DIG rank. Officers of the 2014 batch will also receive promotions to senior scale, including Manjunath T.C., Ajay Singh and Pankaj Bhatt. Following the promotion, Pankaj Bhatt will don two stars along with the Ashoka Pillar insignia.
Overall, the coming year is expected to bring a major leadership transition in Uttarakhand’s administrative and police setup, a shift that is likely to have a direct impact on the functioning of governance and administration in the state.