Duggal to be new home secretary

The personnel ministry has cleared the name of Water Resources Secretary VK Duggal for the post of Union home secretary, setting to rest speculation about who would succeed present incumbent Dhirendra Singh, who retires on March 31.

The department also cleared the name of Additional Secretary (Telecom) JS Sharma for the post of telecom secretary. Sharma is a 1971 batch IAS officer.

The appointment of Vijay Nambiar, former envoy to China, as the deputy to National Security Adviser MK Narayanan, has also been cleared.

Duggal, an IAS officer of 1968 batch from the Union Territory cadre, will have a stint of seven months in the office.

While around a dozen more secretary-level changes are imminent, speculation was rife about the name of next home secretary. It was being said Information and Broadcasting Secretary Naveen Chawla was also in the race for the coveted post with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's blessings. Chawala may have lost in the race because of his retirement in July.

Earlier, it was being speculated that to enable Chawla a longer tenure as the home secre, the tenure of home and defence secretaries would be fixed at two years. However, the Prime Minister's Office nixed the fixed tenure idea earlier this month.

In fact, three names were being discussed for the post of home secretary""DT Joseph, secretary in the shipping ministry; PK Hota, health and family welfare secretary, and Duggal. While the home ministry was reportedly keen on Joseph, the idea did not find favour with the other decision makers. After that Duggal's name was considered and cleared.

Duggal has held a variety of posts after making a lateral entry after a stint as a short service commission officer in the Army.

He had a trouble-free stint in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as commissioner between 1996-2000. It was there that his networking skills with both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress politicians was honned. He gained fame when he organised a massive civic reception for then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Red Fort, during his tenure.

The RSS and the BJP had been awaiting the news that Chawla would be appointed as the home secretary. It would have offered them an opportunity to attack Sonia Gandhi.

The rest of the appointments, including that of the defence secretary are expected to be announced soon, since the most controversial decisions have been cleared.