Chandigarh, November 11: The Punjab government has ordered a major administrative reshuffle, transferring and posting 20 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and appointing new Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in six districts — Ludhiana, Patiala, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Barnala and Tarn Taran. The orders, issued by the Department of Personnel late on Tuesday, take effect immediately, according to the reports carrying the official order.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

The reshuffle is built around two straight swaps at the top of district administration. Komal Mittal, who was Deputy Commissioner of SAS Nagar, has been appointed Deputy Commissioner of Rupnagar (Ropar) in place of Aadiya Dachalwal, who will take her place in SAS Nagar. Patiala Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal has been appointed Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana in place of Himanshu Jain, who will now serve as Deputy Commissioner of Patiala.

Source: ANI via NewKerala

Barnala and Tarn Taran get new DCs

Abhijeet Kaplish, who was serving as Chief Executive of the Punjab Energy Development Agency and, in addition, Director of Sports and Youth Services, has been appointed Deputy Commissioner of Barnala and will also hold the additional charge of Commissioner of the Barnala Municipal Corporation, replacing Harpreet Singh. Nirmal Ouseppachan, who was serving as Additional Secretary, Coordination, and in addition Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Secretary, will take charge as Deputy Commissioner of Tarn Taran in place of Rahul.

Beyond the six district posts, Nation Press reported that Rahul Gupta has been appointed Special Secretary, Transport, with additional charge as Managing Director of Milkfed; Anupam Kler has been posted as Special Secretary in the Defence Services Welfare Department; Harpreet Singh takes over as Director of Sports and Youth Services; and Manisha Rana will head the Information Technology and Industrial Promotion directorate. Nation Press also reported that nine IAS officers have been posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) in the same round of orders.

Alongside the IAS postings, the Punjab government has also ordered 111 transfers in the Punjab Civil Services (PCS), ANI reported — making this one of the widest administrative movements in the state this year, spanning district heads, special secretaries, department directors and subdivisional posts.

The new Deputy Commissioners are expected to assume charge in the coming days. The postings put new administrative heads in Punjab's industrial hub Ludhiana, the border district of Tarn Taran, and four other districts at a time when parties are already positioning for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, due by March 2027, though routine administrative reshuffles are a government prerogative and no official link to the elections was stated in the order.