Dawn of the Yogi era: Expect top bureaucracy, police reshuffles in UP soon

The reshuffle is justified as means to implement govt's roadmap for better law and order situation

The setting up of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh under Yogi Adityanath has also cleared the decks of large-scale transfer of senior state administrative and police officials in the coming days.

A change of guard in the state has always been followed by such mass transfers, primarily to install chosen brass of officials on key posts and important government departments.

The incoming usually dispensation likes to bring its favourite bureaucrats for significant posts, including those of chief secretary, director general of police (DGP), principal secretaries and secretaries in departments, directorates, etc.

The new regime justifies this administrative reshuffle as proactively implementing its road map for a better law and order situation, besides tighter control over state bureaucracy to facilitate faster economic growth as promised in their election manifesto.

Akhilesh Yadav, on taking over as the UP chief minister on March 15, 2012, had effected the transfer of over 1,000 senior administrative and police officials within a month of taking oath. A majority of those reshuffled were high-rank bureaucrats reckoned loyalists of the previous Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) regime.

Yadav's predecessor Mayawati, after taking over as the 17th CM of UP on May 13, 2007, had shifted over 200 senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officials within 3-4 days of taking charge.

She had brought in her confidants on key posts for tighter administrative control. Those shifted included former environment secretary R K Sharma, who was brought in as the Panchayati Raj principal secretary. Sharma's name had already figured in the Taj Corridor case.

Besides, fresh postings were also ordered for lucrative and cash-rich state development authorities, including Noida, Greater Noida, Taj Expressway Authority, etc.

Since the Yogi government was sworn in only on Sunday, the new dispensation is still in the process of taking stock of the situation and preparing a list of officials and departments which would need reshuffling.

Many such transfer orders have in the past been effected in the late hours as well.