Haryana Transfers 3 IAS Officers: Nikhil Gajraj Gets State Transport, Mukul Kumar Moves to Social Justice
The Haryana government has carried out a significant administrative reshuffle involving three IAS officers, bringing changes to key portfolios linked to transport, urban development, social justice and mass rapid transit. The latest orders affect three Haryana-cadre officers from the 2008, 2011 and 2013 batches, with each receiving a revised set of responsibilities.
The reshuffle brings Nikhil Gajraj, IAS (HY: 2008) back to the state after his deputation with the Government of India. He has been appointed Director General, State Transport, Haryana, taking charge of an important department responsible for the state’s transport administration.
At the same time, Mukul Kumar, IAS (HY: 2011) has been moved out of his position as Chief Administrator of the Haryana Shaheri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), Panchkula, and given charge of the Social Justice and Welfare portfolio. Ajay Kumar, IAS (HY: 2013), meanwhile, has been assigned the HSVP as well as the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation, giving him responsibility for two significant urban development and transportation institutions.
Nikhil Gajraj Returns to Haryana After Central Deputation
Nikhil Gajraj, a 2008-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, has returned to the state following the completion of his deputation with the Government of India. His return has now been followed by a major posting in the state administration.
Gajraj has been appointed Director General, State Transport, Haryana. He will take over the responsibility from Dhirendra Khadgata, IAS, who was holding the charge of Director General, State Transport, according to the transfer details provided in the source material.
The posting puts Gajraj at the top of Haryana’s state transport administration at a time when transport management remains closely linked with the movement of people, regulation and administration of the state’s transport system. His new assignment therefore gives him a key operational and administrative role within the state government.
The return of a senior officer after a central deputation also adds another dimension to the reshuffle, as Gajraj brings experience from his tenure with the Government of India into his new state-level assignment.
Mukul Kumar Moves From HSVP to Social Justice and Welfare
Mukul Kumar, IAS (HY: 2011), has also received a major change in his portfolio. The officer has been relieved of his responsibilities as Chief Administrator, Haryana Shaheri Vikas Pradhikaran, Panchkula, and assigned a new set of responsibilities in the social justice and welfare sector.
Under the latest arrangement, Kumar has been entrusted with the charge of Director and Special Secretary, Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes and Antyodaya Sewa.
In addition to this responsibility, he has also been given charge as Mission Director, Mukhya Mantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthaan Yojana. The new assignment brings several welfare-oriented responsibilities under his administrative supervision and shifts his primary role from urban development to social welfare and empowerment-related programmes.
The portfolio covers administrative work and government programmes concerning social justice, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and other vulnerable sections. His responsibilities will also include work connected with the state’s Antyodaya-related initiatives.
Kumar, however, has not been completely relieved of his existing assignments. He will continue to serve as Managing Director, Gurugram Metro Rail Ltd, and as Director and Special Secretary, Hospitality.
This means that his revised portfolio continues to include an important urban transport responsibility through Gurugram Metro Rail while simultaneously placing him in charge of a broad social justice and welfare portfolio.
Ajay Kumar Gets Charge of HSVP and Mass Rapid Transit Corporation
Ajay Kumar, IAS (HY: 2013), has also been assigned two significant responsibilities under the latest Haryana reshuffle. He has been given the charge of Chief Administrator, Haryana Shaheri Vikas Pradhikaran, Panchkula, the agency responsible for important aspects of urban development and planning in Haryana.
Along with this, Kumar has also been entrusted with the responsibility of Managing Director, Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Ltd. The two assignments put him at the centre of major urban development and public transportation-related responsibilities in the state.
As part of the reshuffle, Ajay Kumar has been relieved of his earlier assignment as Director and Special Secretary, Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes and Antyodaya Sewa.
His move to HSVP marks a shift from the social justice and welfare sector to urban development and transportation. With the additional charge of the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation, his portfolio now covers two organisations that are closely associated with the state’s urban infrastructure and mass transportation planning.
Three Officers, Major Changes Across Four Key Sectors
The latest reshuffle brings together changes across several important areas of Haryana’s administration. Transport, urban development, social welfare and mass rapid transit have all been affected by the new allocation of responsibilities.
Nikhil Gajraj’s return from central deputation and appointment as Director General, State Transport, marks the most prominent change in the state’s transport administration. He now takes charge of the department after Dhirendra Khadgata’s tenure in the post.
Meanwhile, the Haryana Shaheri Vikas Pradhikaran has moved to Ajay Kumar, who has also been given charge of the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation. This gives him responsibility for two major institutions dealing with urban development and transportation.
Mukul Kumar’s movement in the opposite direction is equally significant. After serving as Chief Administrator of HSVP, he has now been assigned the Social Justice, Empowerment and Welfare portfolio, along with the Mission Director role for the Mukhya Mantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthaan Yojana.
New Administrative Leadership for Transport, Urban Development and Welfare
The reshuffle effectively changes the administrative leadership across several sectors that have a direct bearing on Haryana’s governance and public services. For the State Transport Department, Nikhil Gajraj’s appointment brings a senior Haryana-cadre IAS officer back into the state administration following his central deputation. His new position involves overall administrative responsibility for the state transport setup.
For urban development, Ajay Kumar’s appointment as Chief Administrator of HSVP gives him charge of a major state-level urban development organisation. His additional responsibility for the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation also connects his portfolio with the state’s mass transit planning and related infrastructure.
Mukul Kumar’s new assignment, meanwhile, takes him into an area focused on social justice, empowerment and welfare. His responsibilities include programmes concerning Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, along with Antyodaya Sewa and the Mukhya Mantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthaan Yojana. At the same time, his continuation as Managing Director of Gurugram Metro Rail Ltd means that his portfolio still retains a major urban transportation component.
What the Latest Haryana IAS Reshuffle Means
The latest orders represent a redistribution of responsibilities among three senior IAS officers of the Haryana cadre. Rather than involving a large-scale movement of officers, the reshuffle focuses on the reallocation of important departments and state-level organisations among Nikhil Gajraj, Mukul Kumar and Ajay Kumar.
The changes also bring together several major areas of administration. State Transport now comes under Nikhil Gajraj, HSVP and Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation move to Ajay Kumar, while Mukul Kumar takes charge of social justice and welfare-related responsibilities.
For the Haryana administration, the new arrangement creates fresh leadership combinations across transport, urban development and welfare programmes. For the three officers, the orders mark substantial changes in their respective portfolios, with each taking on responsibilities that span important areas of the state’s governance structure.
The reshuffle also highlights how senior IAS officers can be assigned a combination of departmental and institutional responsibilities, allowing the state government to realign administrative leadership according to its latest requirements. With Nikhil Gajraj returning from the Centre, Ajay Kumar moving into major urban development and transport roles, and Mukul Kumar taking over a broad social justice and welfare portfolio, the latest changes bring a noticeable shift in the administrative architecture of Haryana.
