Punjab: Sinha new Chief Secretary

Punjab: The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab today replaced the chief secretary. Anurag Verma was replaced by 1992 batch IAS officer KAP Sinha. The top-level change comes on the heels of other changes being made in Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s office. The changes have reportedly been made on the orders of the party high command. Four aides of the CM have already been asked to resign or have resigned. One of them has been removed. Bibhav Kumar, a close aide of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, is also likely to join the CM’s office soon. Kejriwal has been taking stock of the situation in Punjab since his release on bail. He reportedly wants to push development work in Punjab with an aim to showcase the Punjab model in the upcoming Delhi elections, which are crucial for the AAP. Though no immediate reason was given for the change in the state’s top administrative post, sources said the party high command was “not happy with the delay in implementing government schemes and decisions.” Last week, outgoing chief secretary Verma was called to Delhi for a meeting with top party leaders. Sources told Tribune that several ministers and MLAs expressed their displeasure when the party top brass called Verma to review the government’s functioning. The review meetings have been going on since October 5. Sinha, who replaced Verma as chief secretary, was posted as special chief secretary in the Revenue and Rehabilitation and Development Department. These two posts are the two most important posts in the state after the chief secretary. He has served as the administrative head of various departments.