Abhijeet Kaplish posted as Barnala DC, Nirmal Ouseppachan shifted to Tarn Taran; several 2014–2023 batch officers assigned new district and secretariat responsibilities
Chandigarh: The Punjab Government has ordered a major administrative reshuffle involving a large number of IAS officers, shifting several Deputy Commissioners and assigning new responsibilities to officers across different departments and districts. The transfer orders, issued on administrative grounds with immediate effect, cover officers from the 2014 to 2023 batches and include key changes in district administration, rural development, transport, sports, cooperation and other departments.
Among the prominent changes, Komal Mittal, IAS (2014), presently Deputy Commissioner of SAS Nagar, has been transferred as Deputy Commissioner, Rupnagar, replacing Aditya Dachalwal. Himanshu Aggarwal, IAS (2014), who was serving as Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, has been posted as Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, in place of Himanshu Jain.
Aditya Dachalwal, IAS (2016), has been moved from Rupnagar and appointed Deputy Commissioner, SAS Nagar, taking over from Komal Mittal. The reciprocal movement of the two officers brings changes to the district administrations of Rupnagar and SAS Nagar.
Abhijeet Kaplish, IAS (2015), Chief Executive of the Punjab Energy Development Agency and also holding the charge of Director, Sports and Youth Services, has been appointed Deputy Commissioner, Barnala. He will additionally hold the charge of Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Barnala, replacing Harpreet Singh.
Harpreet Singh, IAS (2019), who was serving as Deputy Commissioner, Barnala, with additional charge of Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Barnala, has been posted as Director, Sports and Youth Services, relieving Abhijeet Kaplish of the additional responsibility.
Changes in key district and departmental assignments
Rahul Gupta, IAS (2016), Managing Director of MILKFED, has been posted as Special Secretary, Transport. His position in MILKFED will be taken over by Rahul, IAS (2017), presently Deputy Commissioner, Tarn Taran. The latter has also been assigned the responsibility of Chief Executive, Punjab Energy Development Agency, in place of Abhijeet Kaplish.
Nirmal Ouseppachan, IAS (2019), Additional Secretary, Coordination, and Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Secretary, Punjab, has been posted as Deputy Commissioner, Tarn Taran, replacing Rahul.
Himanshu Jain, IAS (2017), who was serving as Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, has been transferred as Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, succeeding Himanshu Aggarwal.
Anupam Kaler, IAS (2017), Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Kapurthala, has been appointed Special Secretary, Defence Services Welfare.
Manisha Rana, IAS (2019), Managing Director, PRTC, Patiala, has been posted as Director, Promotion of Information Technology Industry against a vacant post.
Rural development and field-level postings
The reshuffle also brings changes in the Rural Development and Panchayats Department, with several IAS officers being assigned responsibilities in district administrations.
Kanchan, IAS (2020), Additional Deputy Commissioner (Rural Development), Bathinda, who was also holding the additional charge of ADC (General), Bathinda, has been transferred as Additional Deputy Commissioner (Rural Development), Sri Muktsar Sahib, in place of Davy Goyal.
Davy Goyal, IAS (2022), who was serving as ADC (Rural Development), Sri Muktsar Sahib, and also holding the additional charge of ADC (General), Sri Muktsar Sahib, has been posted as Additional Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayats.
Krishna Pal Rajpoot, IAS (2022), Additional Deputy Commissioner (Rural Development), Ferozepur, has been assigned the charge of Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), Ferozepur, replacing Amandeep Kaur-II, PCS.
Sunil, IAS (2023), presently Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Balachaur, has been posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner (Rural Development), Patiala, in place of Damanjit Singh Mann, PCS.
Rakesh Kumar Meena, IAS (2023), Additional Deputy Commissioner (Rural Development), Hoshiarpur, has been appointed Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), Pathankot, relieving Arashdeep Singh Lobana, PCS, of the additional charge.
Ayush Goel, IAS (2023), presently SDM, Tapa, has been posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), Mansa, replacing Poonam Singh, PCS.
Pallavi Mishra, IAS (2023), Additional Deputy Commissioner (Rural Development), Amritsar, has been assigned the additional charge of Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), Amritsar, against a vacant post.
Shrey… Jain, IAS (2023), presently Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), Ludhiana, has been posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jagraon, in place of Vineet Kumar, PCS. 
Focus on district administration and departmental coordination
The latest reshuffle brings a series of changes at both the Deputy Commissioner and Additional Deputy Commissioner levels, while also redistributing responsibilities in important state departments. The movement of officers to district-level assignments is expected to strengthen administrative coordination and field-level implementation of government programmes.
The orders also reflect a wider reorganisation of responsibilities among officers of different IAS batches, with several officials moving from departmental and secretariat positions to district administration and vice versa. All the transfers have been ordered with immediate effect.