Senior IAS officer Pankaj Kumar was appointed as the chief secretary by the Gujarat government on Friday.
Pankaj Kumar, who is presently posted as additional chief secretary of home department, will take over as the chief secretary with effect from August 31, the General Administration Department (GAD) said in a notification.
Pankaj Kumar’s batchmate and industries secretary Rajiv Kumar Gupta was also believed to be a contender for the top job.
Mukim was appointed as chief secretary in November 2019, was his tenure was slated to end in August last year. However, he was given a six-month extension in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by a rare second extension in February 2021.
There were speculations that Mukim, who had worked closely with Narendra Modi while he was Gujarat’s chief minister, could get another extension. However, Mukim laid the speculations to rest during the cabinet meeting on Wednesday by announcing it was the final cabinet meeting he would be attending as the chief secretary.
Pankaj Kumar, who belongs to the 1986 batch of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), is a native of Patna. In a career spanning 35 years in the IAS, he has handled responsibilities related to revenue, health & family welfare, ports & transport, water resources, urban development, home, and other departments.
Pankaj Kumar will turn 60 in May next year and will have a term of nine months unless he too gets an extension.