D RajGopalan gets Five month extension as Chief Secretary.

amid speculations, Gujarat Chief Secretary D Rajgopalan has been given a five month extension. He will now retire on December 31.
Mr Rajgopalan became chief secretary on sept 30, 2008 and was due to retire on July 31.The State government has powers to give extension for three months and the State has to seek permission from center for extension beyond three months. Grapevine says, the State government approached the Centre and had sought an extension for six months. The Centre however has given an extension of five months.
Mr Rajgopalan, who is a trusted bureaucrat of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, was earlier principal secretary industry and subsequently, additional chief secretary, finance.

He was instrumental in organising vibrant Gujarat global investors' summit in 2003, 5, 7 and 9. and we are told Chief minister Modi is happy with his organizational skills and integrity. "Also, his ability to execute government’s decision without raising typical bureaucratic resistance and contradictions has endeared him to the Chief Minister",a senior bureaucrat informed d Facto.

Mr Raj Gopalan is a 1974 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer. He was elevated to CS post by superseding his seniors Sudha Anchalia (who retired in June), Gurcharan Singh (who will retire in December) and S Chandrasekhar, who will retire in November this year.

The state government had sought his extension on the grounds of "continuity in the administration". Well continuity and stability are buzz words these days isnt it?

Names of AK Joti and Balwant Singh, currently additional chief secretaries GAD and Home respectively, were doing rounds as next Chief Sectetaries to succeed Rajgopalan.
It must be noted that the Central Government is planning to introduce a rule that the Chief ministers post becomes a tenure posting for two years which means that after a person is appointed as a CS and he or she retires, they would continue to function as CS till their tenure of two years is over. The UPA government is seriously considering this proposal and if that comes through in next five months, Mr Rajgopalan would continue till September 2010.
At present the posts of cabinet secretary and union home secretary is a tenured post of two years.
Bureaucratic grapevine says now with Rajgopalan’s extension as the CS, the Gujarat government will go in for a reshuffle of collectors and DDOs besides some senior officials in the Secreatariat.
This also includes the post of CMD(chairman and managing director) GNFC bharuch which has been lying vacant after Sudha Anchalia retired.

Congratulations Mr Raj Gopalan for the extension!