IAS officers embrace marriage route to ‘preferred’ Haryana

CHANDIGARH: IAS officers are using matrimonial alliances to seek cadre transfers to Haryana and secure postings in this state, perceived to be attractive due to its proximity to the national capital and professional opportunities. Ambala-based Right to Information (RTI) activist Hemant Kumar found out that at least 10 IAS officers were transferred to Haryana in recent years due to their marriages.

The most recent case is that of Utsav Anand, a 2022-batch IAS officer from the UP cadre, who was re-allotted to the Haryana cadre following his marriage to Anjali Shrotriya, his IAS batchmate from Haryana. Utsav, a native of Jharkhand, and Anjali, from Madhya Pradesh originally, had their cadre change approved by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) on Jan 15, 2025.

In Sept 2023, Tripura-cadre IAS officer Rahul Modi transferred to Haryana after marrying Haryana-cadre IPS officer Deepti Garg. Rahul is from Rajasthan, while Deepti belongs to Haryana.

Similarly, in April 2023, Anupama Anjali, a 2018-batch IAS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, joined the Haryana cadre after marrying Harshit Kumar, a 2020-batch IAS officer from Haryana. In Nov 2022, Renu Sogan, a 2019-batch IAS officer from the West Bengal cadre, transferred to Haryana following her marriage to Hitesh Meena, also a 2019-batch IAS officer from Haryana. Both are from Rajasthan originally.Some other transfers are that of Dr Balpreet Singh, who shifted from the Kerala cadre in Feb 2022 after marrying Haryana-cadre IPS officer Upasana. In Oct 2021, Shantanu Sharma from the Assam-Meghalaya cadre transferred to Haryana after his marriage to C Jayashradha, a 2020-batch IAS officer from Haryana.

The DoPT guidelines allow IAS, IPS, and IFS officers to transfer to their spouse's cadre due to marriage, with the restriction that officers cannot transfer to their home state. In cases where both spouses agree, a third state can be allotted. Neha Singh's case highlights the complexities of these transfers. Initially from the Gujarat cadre, Neha joined Haryana in July 2021 after marrying Haryana-cadre IAS officer Rahul Hooda. Rahul had shifted to Haryana cadre in 2015 after marrying a Haryana-cadre IPS officer. Following their divorce, Rahul's second marriage facilitated Neha's transfer.

Young IAS officers often form alliances during their training period at the academy, influenced by shared interests and prolonged time spent together. Additionally, family-arranged marriages among similarly positioned bureaucrats further contribute to this trend. Deputation is an alternative for officers seeking temporary postings in preferred locations, though these arrangements are limited typically to three or four years.



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