CM Dhami Restructures Bureaucracy Ahead of Central Regional Council Meet, Focuses on Health, Nutrition, and Disaster Preparedness
In a sweeping administrative overhaul, the Uttarakhand government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, has transferred 33 IAS officers and 24 PCS officers in a late-night reshuffle on Thursday. The move is part of the state’s continued effort to optimize governance and improve departmental efficiency.
This is the second major reshuffle in just over a month—the previous one on May 11 saw the transfer of 25 IAS and 12 PCS officers.
Key District Magistrate Changes
Several districts saw changes at the top administrative level:
Ashish Chauhan (IAS, 2012 batch), District Magistrate (DM) of Pauri, has been appointed CEO of UCADA (Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority) and Director of Sports and Youth Welfare.
Swati S Bhadauria (IAS, 2012 batch), currently NHM Mission Director and Additional Secretary to the Governor, will take over as the new DM of Pauri. Originally from the Chhattisgarh cadre, she was transferred to Uttarakhand in 2015.
Navneet Pandey (IAS, 2015 batch), DM of Champawat, has been reassigned as Additional Secretary, Personnel. He is replaced by Manish Kumar, the current CDO of Udham Singh Nagar.
Saurabh Gaharwar (IAS, 2016 batch), DM of Rudraprayag, becomes MD of SIDCUL and Director General, Industries. Prateek Jain, the current SIDCUL MD, will now serve as the DM of Rudraprayag.
Meharban Singh Bisht (PCS, 2005 batch), DM of Uttarkashi, has been made Additional Secretary, Energy and Cooperation, and Director, UREDA.
Prashant Kumar Arya (IPS, 2017 batch), previously Director of Sports and Additional Secretary, Child Development, is now DM of Uttarkashi.
Major Reshuffles Among Senior IAS Officers
Significant changes at the secretary level include:
Anand Bardhan (IAS, 1992 batch) has been relieved of the Water Resources Department.
Sachin Kurve (IAS, 2003 batch) is no longer Secretary, Tourism, or CEO, Tourism Development Council.
Dilip Jawalkar (IAS, 2003 batch) has been moved from Cooperation to Water Resources.
Dr. BVRC Purushottam (IAS, 2004 batch), already Secretary, Animal Husbandry and CEO, will now also handle Cooperation.
Dr. Pankaj Pandey (IAS, 2000 batch) has been relieved of the Labour portfolio.
Chandresh Yadav (IAS, 2006 batch) moves from Urban Development to become Commissioner, Food.
Other changes include:
Dr. R Rajesh Kumar has been relieved of Irrigation and Minor Irrigation, retaining his Health Secretary responsibilities.
Dr. Neeraj Khairwal is shifted from Social Welfare to the Language Department.
Sridhar Babu Addanki gains charge of Social Welfare and Labour.
Jugal Kishore Pant transitions from Language and Swajal to Irrigation and Minor Irrigation.
Dhiraj Singh Garbyal moves from Minority Welfare to Secretary, Tourism.
Parag Madhukar Dhakate (IFS) becomes Special Secretary, Minority Welfare.
Senior officials Sonika, Ranjana Rajguru, Anand Swaroop, Reena Joshi, and Manuj Goyal have also been assigned new roles.
PCS Officer Transfers
Among the 24 Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officers reshuffled:
Bharat Singh Firmal is now Additional Secretary, Secretariat Service.
Shiv Kumar Barnwal takes on additional duties as Secretary, UKSSSC.
Ramji Sharan Sharma becomes Chief Development Officer (CDO), Almora.
Ashok Kumar Joshi is now Director, Milk Development and Women’s Dairy.
Trilok Singh Martolia has been made Revenue Field Commissioner, Kumaon.
PC Dumka is appointed Labour Commissioner and Secretary, Workers Board.
This reshuffle comes ahead of the Central Regional Council meeting in Uttarakhand, where CM Dhami is expected to highlight the state’s progress in nutrition, healthcare, and disaster management preparedness. The government’s proactive administrative restructuring signals its intent to deliver stronger governance across all sectors.
