Overview

• Saxena was appointed to lead the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board for three years with rank and responsibilities equivalent to the chief secretary and will report to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
• Sanjay Gupta, a 1988-batch IAS officer, was given additional charge of chief secretary pending a permanent appointment, according to a state government notification.
• To accommodate Saxena, Gupta was shifted from his role as HPSEBL chairman to head the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, where he also holds chief secretary–equivalent status under the CM’s administrative control.
• The government ordered a broader reshuffle of senior officers, including postings for Abhishek Trivedi as secretary (Social Justice and Empowerment) and Sushil Kumar Singla as secretary (Environment, Science, Technology and Climate Change), alongside new assignments for ACS Onkar Chand Sharma and ACS Kamlesh Kumar Pant.
• A public interest litigation in the Himachal Pradesh High Court seeks cancellation of the six-month extension granted to Saxena in March, citing a CBI chargesheet in the INX Media case, and remains pending.