Bhopal, April 9 The Madhya Pradesh government effected a major administrative reshuffle on Thursday, transferring 26 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, including collectors of 14 districts.
Bhopal Collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh has been appointed as Secretary to the Chief Minister, while Dhar collector Priyank Mishra will take over as the new collector of Bhopal.
According to officials, collectors of Sagar, Dhar, Rewa, Bhopal, Narmadapuram, Seoni, Shivpuri, Umaria, Sheopur, Maihar, Damoh, Mandla, Jhabua and Betul districts have been transferred, while the divisional commissioner of Narmadapuram and the Commissioner of Public Instruction have also been changed.
The decision was taken after a meeting between Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Chief Secretary Anurag Jain earlier in the day, following which the General Administration Department (GAD) issued the transfer orders, they added.
Sources said the exercise had been under consideration since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process initiated by the Election Commission last year, though it was delayed due to festivals and the Budget session.
Among the transferred officers, nine are women, namely Shilpa Gupta, Pratibha Pal, Sonia Meena, Sheetla Patle, Neha Meena, Rani Batad, Rakhi Sahay, Sheela Dahima and Bidisha Mukherjee.
"Five of them have been posted as district collectors. While Pratibha Pal and Neha Meena were already serving as collectors, Rakhi Sahay, Sheela Dahima and Bidisha Mukherjee have been given their first postings as district collectors," the official said.
The reshuffle comes ahead of the Census set to begin across the state on April 16.