Madhya Pradesh denies central deputation to four IAS officers
The state government cited 68 cadre vacancies as the reason for refusing the requests of the officers.
The Madhya Pradesh government has refused to allow four IAS officers to go on central deputation, according to NorthBlockSouthBlock. The state cited a shortage of administrative staff for the decision.
The officers whose requests were turned down are Harshika Singh, Rohit Singh, Abhijeet Agrawal, and Anurag Chaudhary. All four belong to the Madhya Pradesh cadre and must remain in their current state roles.
Madhya Pradesh has a sanctioned strength of 459 IAS officers, but 68 positions are currently vacant. The state is also considering the repatriation of Madhya Pradesh-cadre officers currently on central deputation whose tenures end next year.
Rohit Singh, a 2012 batch officer, is the Managing Director of the Madhya Pradesh Textbook Corporation. Abhijeet Agrawal serves as the Managing Director of the Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing Federation (MARKFED).
A shortage of officers has also been linked to delays in promoting State Administrative Service (SAS) officers to the IAS. The induction process for officers from non-administrative services has been discontinued in the state since 2016.
Retired IAS officer D.S. Rai criticised the decision, stating that staff shortages should not limit the professional growth of younger officers. He noted that the creation of smaller districts like Pandhurna, Maihar, and Niwari has increased the demand for officers.