Rajiv Kumar takes over as new chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW: After 100 days in office, chief minister Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh has finally got himself a new chief secretary. Rajiv Kumar is a 1981 batch IAS officer. He replaces Rahul Bhatnagar, who has been transferred as chairman of Greater Noida with additional charge as investment commissioner in New Delhi.

After taking charge on Thursday, the new chief secretary Rajiv Kumar said his immediate priority was the GST rollout from July 1.

The outgoing chief secretary, Rahul Bhatnagar had a controversial stint, especially regarding his alleged role in the multi-crore scam in the Gomti Riverfront Development project.

A major bureaucratic reshuffle accompanied the change at the top, with transfer slips handed out to 40 IAS and six PCS officers on Thursday.

The current transfers rehabilitate the IAS officers who were put on the wait list two months ago. Prominent among those who got postings on Thursday was Navneet Sehgal, who will now by principal secretary in the Khadi Gramodyog Department.

Former principal secretary to the chief minister, Anita Singh’s wait also ended; she has been appointed as principal secretary, integrated rural development.