Sunil Chadha
SHIMLA: In an unprecedented administrative situation, Himachal Pradesh was left without a formal Chief Secretary on Wednesday (October 1, 2025), a day after the extended tenure of senior IAS officer Prabodh Saxena came to an end.
This is believed to be the first such occurrence in the state’s history and possibly a first for any state across the country, highlighting a concerning vacuum at the top of the bureaucracy. BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh too faced a similar situation recently, but the government made a stop-gap arrangement by appointing an Acting Chief Secretary. However, not such arrangement is in place in Himachal so far.
The post of Chief Secretary mostly goes to the senior-most civil servant who acts as the principal adviser to the Chief Minister on all administrative matters.
Pant emerges as frontrunner, seen alongside CM
Amid the uncertainty, all eyes are on 1993-batch IAS officer KK Pant, who is now widely considered the frontrunner for the top post. Strong indications of his elevation emerged on Tuesday when he was seen accompanying Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu throughout the day at the state Secretariat, a move interpreted in bureaucratic circles as a clear signal of the government’s intent.
Pant, an officer belonging to Uttarakhand who returned from central deputation last year, is set to retire on December 31, 2030, which would provide a stable tenure. If appointed, his selection would follow the principle of seniority, albeit with the notable sidelining of 1988-batch officer Sanjay Gupta, who is currently embroiled in a controversy related to the State Electricity Board.
BJP slams government, cites ‘policy paralysis’
The opposition BJP was quick to seize upon the administrative impasse, launching a sharp attack on the Congress government. BJP leaders accused the Sukhu administration of “policy paralysis” and “administrative indecision”.
“This is a government in complete disarray. For probably the first time in history, a state is functioning without a Chief Secretary. This vacuum at the helm reveals a deep-seated administrative indecision and a lack of direction. The government’s inability to appoint a Chief Secretary in a timely manner is causing policy paralysis and is detrimental to the state’s governance and development. The Congress is also unable to appoint office-bearers to its Pradesh Congress Committee, which was disbanded in November 2024,” said a senior BJP leader.
Saxena’s new role adds to confusion
Adding a layer of complexity to the situation, the state government, in a late-night order on Tuesday, appointed the outgoing Chief Secretary, Prabodh Saxena, as the Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd. (HPSEBL). The order stated that the post would be “equivalent in rank, status and responsibility to the post of the Chief Secretary”.
This move has triggered confusion within the bureaucracy, with many officials questioning the power dynamics of having two officers with the rank of Chief Secretary, one outside the Secretariat.
