Haryana babus stare at major reshuffle

NEW DELHI: Haryana babus are staring at a major reshuffle after Manohar Lal Khattar took over as the BJP's first chief minister of the state on Sunday. Party sources said a list of "corrupt officials" has already been prepared and they would be the first one to be removed from key posts.

The next task identified is probe into approval of about 50-60 cases of change of land use (CLU) and doling out of licences to real estate players during the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government.

Sources said within hours after taking oath, the new chief minister met administrative secretaries and heads of departments informally. "He introduced his ministers to the state's key bureaucrats and had a brief interaction. The CM said that bureaucracy and political executive have to play an effective role for better governance," said one of the officers present in the meeting.

Terming the interaction as inspiring, an officer said Khattar emphasized that bureaucrats are instrumental in good governance and he wants everyone to discharge his/her job honestly. The first time MLA and state's second non-Jat chief minister after Bhajan Lal, Khattar has already said his priority would be to get rid of corruption in the state and ensure development.

Rambilas Sharma, who was sworn in as minister, said the government would order a probe, "We shall get a sitting high court judge to probe the land scams that took place in Haryana." However, another section within the party feels that the government should go for an audit by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to establish ground for CBI investigation.

The Khattar Cabinet is set to meet on Monday morning.

Reports said hectic lobbying among top officers has already started. At present, there are a few bureaucrats who have been holding 4-5 important posts for a long time.