Bhopal, May 30 (IANS) Ahead of the mega congregation on women empowerment to be organised on Saturday in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal, Pragya Richa Shrivastava, a 1988 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been given a significant leadership role as the Director General (DG) of the Home Guard.

She has been given the new responsibility as Arvind Kumar, a 1988 batch officer, attained superannuation on Friday. Since the Home Guard DG position is a cadre post, a Special DG has been assigned to take over.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the mega congregation of nearly 200,000 women in Bhopal on Saturday.

According to the Home Department’s latest directive, Pragya Richa Srivastava, previously Special DG of Women Security at the Police Headquarters Cell, will now serve as the DG of Home Guard Civil Security and Disaster Management.

Anil Kumar, who currently holds additional responsibilities as Additional Director General (ADG) SISF PHQ (State Industrial Security Force, police headquarters) and Police Welfare, will also take on the duties of ADG Women Security Police Headquarters and Police Welfare.

Additionally, ADG, Special Armed Forces (SAF) Chanchal Shekhar has been given the additional responsibility of ADG SISF Police Headquarters while continuing his existing role.

The appointment of Srivastava was finalised after considerable deliberation, with other candidates such as Yogesh Mudgal and G. Akheto Sema also under consideration. Sema has prior experience in the Home Guard, while Mudgal is set to retire in August. Ultimately, Srivastava was entrusted with the leadership role.

Meanwhile, ADG Dinesh Chandra Sagar is expected to be promoted to Special DG following Arvind Kumar’s retirement, though he will only hold the position for a month before his retirement in June. This Friday marks the final day in government service for Additional Chief Secretary Vinod Kumar and DG Home Guard Arvind Kumar. Similarly, Datia Collector Sandeep Kumar Makin also retired on Friday. Although their official retirement date is May 31, due to the Saturday holiday, they are being relieved a day earlier.

However, the General Administration Department has yet to issue an order regarding the new Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), though Manish Rastogi is considered a strong contender for promotion. Rastogi, a 1989 batch IAS officer, could take over the vacant ACS post within the next couple of days.

In the IAS seniority hierarchy, Hariranjan Rao is senior to Rastogi, who is Principal Secretary of the Finance department. Rao is currently on deputation in Delhi with no indication of returning to Madhya Pradesh. Given this, the General Administration Department might grant Rao a notional promotion and formally appoint Rastogi to the ACS role.

In another key transition, Datia Collector Sandeep Kumar Makin is set to retire on May 31, prompting the imminent appointment of a new officer for the district. This date holds special significance for Datia, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to virtually inaugurate Datia Airport from Bhopal. In light of this, Makin may continue in his post until the evening of May 31 or until his successor is officially appointed.

–IANS

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