Top transport posts to see change of guard

Important posts in the central government's transport sector are set to witness a change of guard from August 1.

Railway Board Chairman JP Batra is retiring on July 31 and names of three persons, including two board members, are doing the rounds as candidates to succeed him.

The secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Vijay Singh, is also vacating his seat as he has been appointed defence secretary. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will also get a new chairman.

Railway Board Member (Staff) KC Jena and Member (Mechanical) RK Rao are tipped to succeed Batra. General Manager (North-Eastern Railways) Sukhbir Singh is also said to be in the running for the post.

Insiders suggest that with Batra being a favourite of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, it will be interesting to see who succeeds him. Jena, a 1971-batch Indian Railways Traffic Services officer, was general manager, East Central Railway, prior to joining the board. Rao is a 1970-batch, Indian Railways Service of Mechanical Engineering officer and was general manager, Western Railway, before he joined the board on September 1, 2006.

With Jena and Rao being "outsiders" and having joined the board only a year back, sources say Sukhbir Singh, at present general manager, North Eastern Railway, could prove to be the proverbial dark horse in the race. Observers say Singh's name has been fielded at the last moment.

Brahm Dutt, a 1973-batch Karnataka-cadre IAS officer, will be taking over as secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. He is principal secretary in the Karnataka government's department of disinvestment and public enterprises reforms. The current incumbent in Parivahan Bhawan, Vijay Singh, is taking over as defence secretary.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will also get a new chairman, JS Maini, in place of Pradip Kumar, who has been appointed secretary in the disinvestment ministry. Maini is at present joint secretary and financial advisor in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers.