The Haryana government has assigned the additional charge of the Finance and Planning Departments to senior IAS officer Sudhir Rajpal, a 1990-batch officer, following the retirement of Arun Gupta on September 30.
Rajpal will assume responsibility for the two key departments while continuing with his existing assignments. The move places an experienced bureaucrat at the helm of portfolios that have a significant bearing on the state’s financial management, budgetary planning and allocation of resources.
The Finance and Planning Departments became vacant after Gupta’s retirement. Gupta, who had held the portfolios before demitting office, had also been serving as Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
The state government has, so far, not announced a successor to Gupta for the post of Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. There has also been no decision to offer him re-employment following his retirement.
Rajpal’s latest assignment adds another important responsibility to his existing portfolio. As a senior member of the Haryana IAS cadre, his continued handling of multiple departments places him among the officers currently entrusted with significant administrative responsibilities in the state.
The allocation comes at a time when the Finance Department assumes particular importance in coordinating expenditure priorities, fiscal planning and the implementation of government programmes across Haryana. The additional charge will therefore require Rajpal to balance the demands of the Finance and Planning portfolios with his other ongoing administrative responsibilities.