Shimla: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said the state govt can save up to Rs 200 crore by reducing the sanctioned strength of IAS, IFS and IPS officers in the state.Although Sukhu has been advocating reduction of bureaucrats in the state since long, he has now announced plans to approach the Centre to reduce the sanctioned strength of IAS officers from the existing 153 to 130 and IFS officers from 118 to 83. The number of sanctioned IPS posts would also be reduced from the existing 96, he said while interacting with the media. The chief minister said he personally favoured bringing the IAS strength down to 100-110, but agreed to retain 130 posts following resentment among IAS officers.The CM said Himachal needs officers who can effectively implement govt schemes, underlining that several officers lack sufficient work which “affects their ability to utilise their talent”. He added that the govt readily approves deputation proposals of IAS and IPS officers to the central govt, unlike the previous govt. According to Sukhu, the savings generated would be used for the welfare and betterment of people in the state.However, some bureaucrats have disputed the govt’s position, pointing out that officers close to the incumbent govt have been assigned five to six key departments, while equally capable officers have only one or two.
