Chandigarh Replaces Advisors with Chief Secretaries, IAS Strength Rises to 11

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): The Central Government has made significant administrative changes in Chandigarh after 40 years abolishing the post of Advisor to the Administration and introducing the post of Chief Secretary. With this change, two additional IAS officer posts have been created bringing the total number of IAS officers in Chandigarh to 11. Rajiv Verma is currently eligible for this new designation.  

The post of Chief Secretary was introduced to replace the Advisor, a role established in 1984. Prior to that Chandigarh had a Chief Commissioner. However, on June 3, 1984 the Chief Commissioner’s post was abolished and the Advisor to the Administration role was created. This recent decision is expected to strengthen Chandigarh's administrative structure.  

Experts note that the role of Advisor was functionally equivalent to the Chief Secretary position in other states. The new designation aligns with this and ensures the Chief Secretary directly reports to the Administrator, similar to how Chief Secretaries report to Chief Ministers in states.  

Revised Administrative Structure in Chandigarh: 

- Chief Secretary – 1  

- Secretary (Home) – 1  

- Secretary (Finance) – 1  

- Secretary (Urban Planning and Smart City) – 1  

- Deputy Commissioner – 1  

- Joint Secretary (Finance) – 1  

- Excise Commissioner – 1  

- Secretary (two positions)  

- Additional Secretary – 1  

- Additional Deputy Commissioner – 1  

This decision increases the influence of the UT cadre as the number of IAS posts in Chandigarh has now grown to 11. However, there will be no major administrative reshuffle following this change as the Chief Secretary will continue to report directly to the Administrator.