Inside The Secretariat: Extensions, Empty Chairs, & VGGS Rush

Retirement Fixed, Extension in the Air!

Over the past two months, the Centre has granted extensions to the Chief Secretaries of Haryana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Assam. The trend suggests that a retirement date is no longer necessarily the final stop—it may simply become the starting point for an extension. A new bureaucratic trend seems to be emerging: “Retirement is scheduled, but extension is negotiable.” This trend is naturally drawing attention in Gujarat too. Speculation has begun in bureaucratic circles over the possibility of extending the tenure of Gujarat’s current Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Das beyond December 2026, particularly with the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) scheduled for January next year. The interesting thing about bureaucracy is that speculation often starts running before the file does! Of course, any extension will ultimately depend on a decision by the Centre, and it would be premature to treat anything as official for Gujarat at this stage. But in today’s changing bureaucratic calendar, perhaps the most important date is no longer the Retirement Date—it is the Extension Date!

VGGS Gets Its Bureaucratic Army

The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2027 is no longer just a summit—it is shaping up as a mega government operation. For the summit scheduled in January, the state government has formed 13 functional committees to handle everything from protocol, security, transport and exhibitions to media and B2B/B2G meetings. The interesting part? A separate committee for every task—and an officer to lead every committee! One officer will coordinate one-to-one meetings with dignitaries, another will handle airport facilities, while others will oversee seminars, MoUs, media and publicity. In Gandhinagar, therefore, the entire ‘committee culture’ action plan is now in place ahead of VGGS. For the bureaucracy, the summit is not just about attracting investment; it is also a major test of coordination and execution for senior officers. With VVIP programmes involving the PM, CM and foreign dignitaries, responsibilities have been micro-managed—from protocol and security to traffic and parking. Now, the real test will be how smoothly this 13-committee government teamwork performs when the summit actually takes centre stage.

From ‘Madam’ to ‘Collector Didi’!

In bureaucracy, a Collector’s job is usually associated with files, meetings and government schemes. But in Chhota Udepur, a woman IAS officer has taken the Collector’s chair into the classroom. Gargi Jain, a 2015-batch Gujarat cadre officer, spends one day every week visiting schools in tribal areas, interacting directly with girls and working to keep them from dropping out. For these tribal girls, the ‘Collector Madam’ has become ‘Collector Didi’. What the government may describe as a ‘dropout reduction initiative’ is, for these students, about getting the confidence to dream—and the courage to pursue those dreams. The Collector’s role here is not just that of a District Magistrate, but also a Dream Motivator. The impact is already visible in the numbers. Around 9,000 girls dropped out of school in Chhota Udepur in 2025, while the figure came down to 5,500 in 2026. The road ahead is still long, but this is a reminder that sometimes bureaucracy can teach its best lessons outside the files—and here, the Collector Didi is literally taking the class herself.

L&O Gets a Home & Order Twist!

Police duty may leave little time for family, but this time, the “punishment” of staying far away from home has been eased a little. For the first time in the history of Gujarat Police, 415 police personnel have been transferred on their own request, specifically considering spouse-related cases. In other words, this time, “Home and Order” has received as much attention as “Law and Order.” The 415 personnel include 27 ASIs, 33 Head Constables and 355 Constables. Until now, police transfers were largely driven by factors such as district, unit and administrative requirements. Now, the “husband-wife case” has also emerged as a serious consideration. In a way, it is as if the “Family Court” has finally reached Police Headquarters! The biggest benefit is that for many police personnel, the distance between home and headquarters will now become a little shorter. The duty will remain the same, but the chances of reaching home after duty will improve. The decision by State Police Chief Gyanendra Singh Malik is not only sensitive but also sends a clear message: a police officer is not just a uniform—there is a family behind that uniform too. And if tea tastes a little sweeter in 415 homes after the news that “Saheb has finally been transferred closer to home,” well, that would hardly be surprising!

Gujarat Needs a ‘Mundhe’ for Food Safety

Tukaram Mundhe in Maharashtra and Roshan Jacob in Uttar Pradesh have shown what aggressive food-safety enforcement looks like. Jacob and her team have raided more than 2,000 locations in a crackdown on the food mafia. Gujarat, too, badly needs such a no-nonsense approach. But there is a glaring gap: nearly a year after SG Koshia’s retirement, the Food & Drugs Commissioner’s post continues to be held as an additional charge. The timing could hardly be worse. Cases of analogue paneer and food adulteration are surfacing almost every day, yet the department does not have enough manpower for raids and inspections. Worse, the officer expected to lead and direct enforcement does not have a full-time posting as Commissioner. That is where the ‘Mundhe model’ becomes relevant. Surprise inspections, strict enforcement and immediate action against violations have been the hallmark of Tukaram Mundhe’s administrative style. The message is simple: food safety cannot be enforced through files alone—it has to be visible on the ground.

Fewer DIG Chairs, Longer IPS Queue!

Gujarat’s 2011-batch IPS officers have received their DIG promotions, but the bigger question now is: where are the range chairs? The number of DIG-level officers is rising, while the state has only nine police ranges. On top of that, a large number of SP-rank IPS officers are expected to enter the DIG queue over the next four to five years. So, while promotions may be straightforward, the posting arithmetic is set to become increasingly difficult for the government. The government can create additional ex-cadre DIG posts, but creating a new chair with every new batch is hardly a long-term solution. That is why Central Deputation is gaining attention in the police circles. Some 2011-batch DIGs are reportedly looking to move to the Centre and have even applied. It is not just about finding a vacant chair. A stint with agencies such as CBI, IB or NIA can offer national exposure, specialised expertise and a stronger career USP. So the IPS career equation may be changing: promotion to DIG in Gujarat, but a Delhi ticket for the next career move. With limited senior-level chairs in the state, Central Deputation could increasingly become not an ‘outside posting’, but a strategic career investment.

PPP Enters Gujarat’s Forests!

The Gujarat Forest Department is now looking beyond just protecting forests—it is also exploring ways to turn forest land into an economic model. The state is considering PPP-based commercial plantations, green belts, nurseries and other forest-linked activities on government and private land. In other words, the focus appears to be shifting from ‘forest conservation’ to ‘wealth from forests’. The Gujarat Forest Development Corporation’s Golden Jubilee initiatives include honey production, honey processing and marketing, carbon credits, medicinal plants for Ayurvedic medicines and value addition of forest produce. The plan also seeks to link activities such as cultivation of vanilla grass and medicinal crops across 100 acres with employment generation. For the bureaucracy, the interesting part is that private participation and forest-based businesses are now being considered alongside government land. If the model takes off successfully, forests could emerge not just as a conservation domain but as a new platform for jobs, revenue and the green economy.

Surat’s Empty Chair, Plenty of Buzz!

With Gujarat’s long-pending IPS transfers now close to being cleared, the vacant Surat Police Commissioner’s post is back at the centre of discussion. After Anupam Singh Gehlot moved to become Ahmedabad Police Commissioner, Vabang Zamir has been holding additional charge for quite some time. Now, in police circles, Law & Order chief Rajkumar Pandian is being tipped as the frontrunner for the full-time post. Surat is hardly unfamiliar territory for Pandian. He has previously served as Surat Range IG and was also seen as a contender for the Commissioner’s post at the time, but Gehlot eventually got the chair. With Gehlot now in Ahmedabad and Pandian serving in Gandhinagar, the old posting arithmetic is back on the table! The final call, however, rests with the state government, with the Home Minister expected to take the decision under the guidance of the high command. For now, the equation is simple: the Surat chair is vacant, the charge continues—and the race is heating up!