Discriminatory treatment toward senior HCS officers reduces in recent admn reshuffle

Homepages News Service
Chandigarh, June 15: In a notable shift, the Haryana government has finally started correcting the long-standing discriminatory treatment faced by senior Haryana Civil Services (Executive Branch – HCS-EB) officers. As per the recent administrative reshuffle dated June 12, senior HCS officers have now been appointed as Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADCs) in 12 of the state’s 22 districts.
Advocate Hemant, an expert in administrative matters and a practicing lawyer in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, highlighted that although 15 ADC posts are officially designated for HCS officers (as per the HCS cadre strength order issued by the state in October 2020), until February 2025, all 22 ADC posts were occupied solely by IAS officers. This was seen as a clear case of step-motherly treatment towards the HCS cadre, especially senior officers from the 2002 to 2004 batches, who are still awaiting promotion to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
Hemant had previously written to the Department of Personnel and Training — which reports administratively to the Chief Secretary and politically to the Chief Minister — citing the official cadre allocation that reserves 15 ADC posts for HCS officers with Selection Grade or Super Time Scale (those with 9 to 18 years or more of service).
In contrast, under the IAS cadre allocation issued by the Central Government in December 2018, only 7 ADC posts in Haryana are earmarked for IAS officers.With the recent changes, the situation has now shifted: out of the 22 districts, 12 have HCS officers posted as ADCs, while 10 continue to have IAS officers in these roles.Hemant emphasized that the ADC post is a permanent and significant position at each district headquarters, being the second-highest administrative post after the Deputy Commissioner (DC).
Although previously the ADC also held the roles of Secretary of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) and CEO of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), this is no longer the case.
Currently, the ADC also holds the ex-officio post of District Citizen Resources Information Officer (DCRIO). IAS Officers Currently Posted as ADCs:Anupama Anjali (2018 batch) – Rewari,Pradeep Singh (2020 batch) – Nuh (Mewat),Deepak Babulal Karwa – Kaithal,C. Jayasharda – Hisar,Pankaj – Panipat, Laksit Sareen (2021 batch) – Sonipat, Narendra Kumar – Rohtak, Sonu Bhatt – Karnal, Vivek Arya – Jind, Nisha – Panchkula.
HCS Officers currently posted as ADCs:2002 Batch:Munish Nagpal – Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri, Vatsal Vashisth – Gurugram, Jag Nivas – Jhajjar, Mahabir Prasad – Kurukshetra, Mahender Pal – Ambala, 2003 Batch:Sushil Kumar-1 – Mahendragarh, 2004 Batch:Virender Singh Sahrawat – Sirsa, Satbir Singh – Faridabad, Jaideep Kumar – Palwal, Anurag Dhaliya – Fatehabad, Naveen Kumar Ahuja – Yamunanagar.
According to Haryana’s administrative setup, ADC posts can be held by either IAS or senior HCS officers. However, the post of Deputy Commissioner (DC) in the districts is strictly reserved for IAS officers.
This restructuring is being seen as a long-overdue correction and a step toward equitable treatment of senior HCS officers within the state’s administrative hierarchy.