Chandigarh: A 1993 batch IAS officer Anurag Verma on Saturday took charge as 42nd Chief Secretary of the state in the presence of outgoing Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua and other senior civil officers.
Born in a family of academicians from Patiala, Verma will also be the Principal Secretary Personnel and Vigilance in addition to his present assignment as Chief Secretary.
On the occasion senior civil officers DK Tiwari, Kumar Rahul, Malwinder Singh Jaggi, Vipul Ujwal, Ramvir, Sonali Giri, Isha Kalia, Gauri Parasher Joshi, Puneet Goyal, Bhupinder Singh, Neeru Katyal Gupta, Sukhjeet Pal Singh were also present.
After assuring the charge as Chief Secretary, Verma said that under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann he will accord top priority to clean, efficient, responsive and transparent administration besides giving major thrust on Health and Education sectors along with all round development of the state. The Chief Secretary said that he will discharge his duty with due diligence and devotion to ensure well being of every section of society.
Verma said that Punjab, being a border state and food bowl of the country, assumes lot of significance for the entire country adding that with the support of all civil and police officers besides government employees, will make Punjab a front ranking state in the country.
The Chief Secretary said that major thrust will also be laid on implementing the state government’s citizen centric and development oriented policies with feedback from the ground level. He said that every effort will be made to percolate the benefits of the pro-people policies of the state government at the ground level.
He further said that a viable mechanism will be evolved for further resolving the grievances of general public on priority basis and in a prompt manner. Notably, Verma’s native village is Chalela in Patiala district and he is a Gold Medalist from the Thapar College, Patiala in Electronics and Communication Engineering. He bagged overall 7th rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 1993.
Earlier, Verma was holding the charge of Additional Chief Secretary Home, Industries & Commerce, Legal and Legislative Affairs, Information Technology and Investment Promotion. He had also served the state in various capacities including in Rural Development and Panchayats, Excise and Taxation, Revenue.
He took extraordinary step of computerizing revenue land records and establishing Fard Kendras in the state while serving as Special Secretary of Revenue. While serving as Excise and Taxation Commissioner, he made it simple and transparent for people to pay their taxes, which was one of his greatest accomplishments. As a result of his effectiveness and work ethic, he also significantly increased the revenue.
In his capacity as the Finance Commissioner for Rural Development and Panchayat, he successfully carried out the MGNREGA scheme's ground-level implementation. By obtaining the construction of playgrounds and sports parks in more than 1000 villages throughout the state, he continued to create a healthy sporting environment.
During his field posting as the Deputy Commissioner for the districts of Bathinda, Ludhiana, and Jalandhar, he provided excellent and effective services. He then performed admirably in a variety of positions at the Head Office. /DW/
