PATNA: Tripurari Sharan, 1985-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, was on Friday granted three months’ service extension as the state’s chief secretary.
He was earlier scheduled to retire from the government job on June 30 this year on completion of 60 years of age, but now after the service extension, he will retire on September 30, 2021.
“Service of Triapurari Sharan, chief secretary of Bihar, is being extended for three months (from July 01, 2021 to September 30, 2021) under the Rule 16(1) of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958,” a notification issued by the state government’s general administration department’s under-secretary Kanhaiya Lal Sah reads.
The central government’s department of personnel and training (DoPT) gave its consent on the service extension of Sharan on June 24, the notification said.
Sharan was appointed as the state chief secretary on May 1 this year, a day after the sudden demise of his predecessor and batch-mate Arun Kumar Singh due to Covid-19 infection.
Singh died of Covid-19 in a private hospital in the state capital on April 30 this year.
He was tested positive in mid-April and after a long battle with the disease breathed his last on the last day of April.
However, the service extension granted to Sharan is not an isolated case in Bihar and Jharkhand.
In fact, Sharan is the fourth chief secretary in Bihar who was granted service extension during the regime of CM Nitish Kumar.
In Jharkhand too, two chief secretaries were granted service extension after it was carved out of Bihar in November 2000.
Earlier, former Bihar chief secretary Deepak Kumar was granted two service extensions of six months (total of one year).
Deepak, who took over the charge as Bihar’s chief secretary on May 31, 2018, was scheduled to retire on February 29, 2020 after completion of 60 years of age.
But he retired from the job on February 29, 2021, due to a year-long extension granted to him.
Deepak’s predecessor Anjani Kumar Singh (a 1982-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer) too was given service extension for a period of three months from March 1, 2018.
Singh was earlier scheduled to retire on February 28, 2018.
Resultantly, he retired from the post of chief secretary on May 31, 2018 after handing over the charge to Deepak.
“Prior to Deepak and Singh, another chief secretary Ashok Kumar Choudhary (1972-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer) was granted service extension for a period of three months from September 1, 2007.
Choudhary was scheduled to retire on August 31, 2007.
Ultimately, he retired on November 30, 2007,” a senior IAS officer told TOI on Friday.
In Jharkhand, former chief secretary Sudhir Tripathi (1985-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre) was given two service extensions of three months each by the Centre at the request of the then Raghubar Das government.
“Initially, Tripathi, who was scheduled to retire on September 30, 2018, was granted a service extension of three months from October 1 to December 31, 2018.
Again, he was granted another extension for a period of three months from January 1 to March 31, 2019,” a Jharkhand cadre IAS officer told TOI on Friday.
Prior to Tripathi, another Jharkhand chief secretary G Krishnan, who was scheduled to retire from the post on December 31, 2002, was granted service extension of three months from January 1 to March 31, 2003, the Jharkhand officer said.