The appointment of new Secretary for Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) could take everyone by surprise. It is expected shortly because incumbent secretary Vijay Chibber (IAS:1978:TR) will retire on December 31. So hold your breath till then.
In case 1982 batch officers get a chance, Raghav Chandra (IAS:1982:MP), current Chairman of NHAI, is said to have better prospects for succeeding Chibber. This could pave the way for others in NHAI. It may be noted that the post of NHAI Chairman was downgraded to the rank of Additional Secretary. Having been empanelled for Secretary level posting, Chandra has to be sooner or later posted as Secretary.
At the same time, it would be surprising if the coveted post is not awarded to a senior batch officer to maintain the order of hierarchy. So, on this count, current Shipping Secretary Rajive Kumar's (IAS:1981:UP) name has also been speculated about. The appointment of Kumar as MoRTH secretary, in case it comes about, would then necessitate appointment of a new Shipping Secretary.
It is worth recalling here that when R P Singh's tenure as NHAI Chairman was to come to an end in the middle of the year, it was widely speculated that Chibber might be asked to head NHAI as Chairman. That could have happened only if he were willing to resign from the post of secretary prematurely. And apparently he was not. Now the situation stands changed: since he will superannuate in end-December, it is again speculated that he may be asked to head NHAI.
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Next MoRTH Secretary could be a dark horse?
By IndianMandarins - 2015-12-23 12:04:14
The appointment of new Secretary for Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) could take everyone by surprise. It is expected shortly because incumbent secretary Vijay Chibber (IAS:1978:TR) will retire on December 31. So hold your breath till then.
In case 1982 batch officers get a chance, Raghav Chandra (IAS:1982:MP), current Chairman of NHAI, is said to have better prospects for succeeding Chibber. This could pave the way for others in NHAI. It may be noted that the post of NHAI Chairman was downgraded to the rank of Additional Secretary. Having been empanelled for Secretary level posting, Chandra has to be sooner or later posted as Secretary.
At the same time, it would be surprising if the coveted post is not awarded to a senior batch officer to maintain the order of hierarchy. So, on this count, current Shipping Secretary Rajive Kumar's (IAS:1981:UP) name has also been speculated about. The appointment of Kumar as MoRTH secretary, in case it comes about, would then necessitate appointment of a new Shipping Secretary.
It is worth recalling here that when R P Singh's tenure as NHAI Chairman was to come to an end in the middle of the year, it was widely speculated that Chibber might be asked to head NHAI as Chairman. That could have happened only if he were willing to resign from the post of secretary prematurely. And apparently he was not. Now the situation stands changed: since he will superannuate in end-December, it is again speculated that he may be asked to head NHAI.
