Haryana has written to the Centre seeking the repatriation of four IAS officers amid a shortage of officers in the state.
The four officers whom the Haryana government wants back are V Umashankar (1993 batch), Rakesh Gupta (1997 batch), Nitin Kumar Yadav (2000 batch) and Vikas Gupta (2001 batch).
A senior Haryana government officer confirmed the development as the shortage of senior officers in the state deepens. The Centre is yet to respond to the state’s request.
Recent retirements have further compounded the problem of vacant posts. IAS officers Anita Yadav and Arun Kumar Gupta, who was also the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, retired on September 30. The Saini government is yet to name Gupta’s replacement.
Before them, D Suresh retired on August 31, while Raja Sekar Vundru retired on July 31.
At the end of this month, Sanjay Joon, Commissioner of the Faridabad Division, will retire. Sudhir Rajpal, who is handling the Home, Environment, Forest and Wildlife, and Finance Departments, and Geeta Bharti, Commissioner of the Hisar Division, are due to retire on November 30.
Two months later, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi is due to retire on December 31, 2026. He was granted a second extension on the recommendation of the state government.
Meanwhile, five serving officers — Pankaj Agarwal, Ram Kumar Singh, Vineet Garg, Mohd Shayin and Saket Kumar — have been named in the CBI chargesheet in the Rs 657-crore IDFC First Bank-AU Small Finance Bank scam. They are unlikely to be given prominent postings.
Against a sanctioned strength of 226 IAS officers, only 179 are currently posted in Haryana, leaving 47 posts vacant — a shortfall of 20.8 per cent.
Profile of the four officers
V Umashankar has been serving as Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways since November 1, 2024. He served as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister under both Manohar Lal Khattar and Nayab Singh Saini from 2020 to 2024 and is considered close to the BJP government.
Rakesh Gupta has been serving as Additional Secretary in the President’s Secretariat since November 2022. In Haryana, he handled the Women and Child Development, Skill Development and Industrial Training, and Education Departments. He oversaw flagship programmes of the BJP government, including Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and the Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associates Programme. He also served as Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister from 2014 to 2018, during Khattar’s tenure.
Nitin Kumar Yadav has been serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry since June 2024. He also served as Home Secretary in the Chandigarh Administration from 2021 to 2024. In Haryana, he held positions in the Power and Education Departments.
Vikas Gupta has been serving as Commissioner of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan under the Centre since December 2025. In Haryana, he handled the Urban Local Bodies and Civil Aviation Departments, as well as the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC). He also served as CEO of the Haryana Parivar Pehchan Authority, a flagship programme of the BJP government, from 2021 to 2024.
