Telangana seeks 3-month extension for chief secretary Ramakrishna Rao

Hyderabad: Telangana govt has sought the Centre's approval to extend the tenure of chief secretary K Ramakrishna Rao by another three months. The proposal was reportedly sent to the Centre last week.Ramakrishna Rao, who retired in Aug last year, was granted a seven-month extension by the Centre, which is set to end on March 31. The state govt has now requested a further extension until June. Sources said the Centre generally approves extensions of up to six months for senior officials on the request of state govts. In some states, including Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, retired chief secretaries were granted a one-year extension. Citing such precedents, Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy wrote to the Centre seeking an additional three-month extension for Ramakrishna Rao. Even with the proposed extension, his total extended tenure would remain less than a year. Officials said the chief minister also personally raised the matter with Union home minister Amit Shah during a meeting in Delhi last week, when he had gone to discuss issues related to surrendered Maoists. The Union minister reportedly did not give any assurance but informed the chief minister that he would bring the matter to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "One-year extension is only an exception, and the state govt has to give reasons for continuation of any officer. In an extraordinary case, a two-year extension (one year each) was given to the chief secretary in Uttar Pradesh, but in view of elections and other issues," a former chief secretary said. The Centre has also advised states that granting extensions should not become a routine practice, he added. In this case, the state govt is keen to continue Ramakrishna Rao until the end of June as it has recently launched the 99-day Praja Palana-Pragati Pranalika programme, which is being implemented across the state and will conclude on June 12. Officials believe that appointing a new chief secretary at this stage could delay the programme as it may take time for the new incumbent to familiarise himself with the initiative. BOXHyderabad: The state govt is hoping that the Centre will consider the request, while also examining alternative options in case the proposal is not approved. Though around 10 officers of special chief secretary rank are available, the govt is likely to shortlist three or four names for the next chief secretary. Among the frontrunners are two 1992 batch IAS officers — special chief secretaries Jayesh Ranjan and Vikas Raj. While Jayesh Ranjan currently heads the municipal administration department, Vikas Raj is serving in the transport, roads and buildings department. The senior-most IAS officer in the state cadre, 1990 batch officer Shashank Goel, is presently posted in Delhi.