Citing drought, govt wants retiring chief secy to serve 4 more months

The State government has listed the prevailing drought in the State as “the cause of action” for its move for seeking a four-month extension to Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee.

A 1978-batch IAS officer, Mukherjee was to retire on September 30. The State government has dispatched  a letter to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), New Delhi, seeking extension of service for Mukherjee. According to sources, the government has reasoned that Mukherjee heads several committees pertaining to drought relief and monitoring and his services were required by the government to maintain continuity.

The State’s request has to be cleared by Prime Minister’s Office for Mukherjee to get an extension, the sources added.

After retirement, S V Ranganath, as chief secretary, was given extension twice for a total period of six months. When Jagadish Shettar was the chief minister, Ranganath got an extension on the advice of the Election Commission as the State was getting ready to face the 2013 Assembly elections.

As soon as Siddaramaiah became the chief minister, he wanted the services of Ranganath to continue as he had to make preparations for presenting a budget.