Tripura undecided about new chief secretary

Agartala, July 25 (IANS) The Left Front government in Tripura is yet undecided on naming successor to chief secretary Sanjay Kumar Panda, who will join the central government next week, an official said here Friday.

"The state government is yet to select the name of the new chief secretary after opposition by some officials, including women officers, to a section of senior bureaucrats," a top state government official told IANS.

The disgruntled officials alleged that a section of top Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers is having illicit affairs with women.

The official told IANS the state government is considering the names of G. Kameswara Rao and Pravin Srivastava for the chief secretary's post.

Rao is the incumbent additional chief secretary of the state while Srivastava (a Tripura-Manipur cadre IAS officer) is now a member-secretary of the National Monuments Authority under the union ministry of culture.

"Outgoing chief secretary Panda was released by the state government to join as secretary of the union textiles ministry next week on central deputation," the official added. Panda held the post since May 2010.