Deepak Kumar is set to be new Bihar chief secy

New Delhi: Senior IAS officer of 1984 batch of Bihar cadre is all set to become the new chief secretary of the state in the next month as the tenure of incumbent CS Anjani Kumar Singh is ending on May 31.

Kumar, who was heading the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) as its chairman, was on Thursday sent back to his cadre state Bihar before completion of his tenure.

According to sources, Kumar would join as Development Commissioner prior to donning the hat of chief secretary of the state. "Earlier the state government, which is led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, had offered CS post to CK Mishra, a 1983-batch IAS officer the state cadre, who had refused to join citing some personal reasons," the sources maintained.

As Mishra expressed his unwillingness to accept the coveted post, the Bihar government had extended the tenure of incumbent CS Anjani Kumar Singh for three months, the sources said. At the time when Mishra was offered the CS post, he was shifted from Health Secretary at the Centre to Environment Secretary.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the premature repatriation of Kumar to his parent cadre with immediate effect, an order issued by personnel ministry said, without citing any reason. The 1984 IAS officer of Bihar cadre had taken over as the NHAI chief on June 28 last year.

Coming back to Mishra, he was earlier also associated with delivering health care at the provincial level and played a key role in eradicating polio in the toughest region of Bihar. Also, he has been the force behind 'Mission Indradhanush' – the largest ever focused campaign to immunise children.