Though Chief Secretary P.K. Mohanty, who will be retiring on Friday on attaining superannuation has shown no inclination for an extension, given the political vacuum in the State, the Centre could ask him to continue for three months.
With caretaker Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy not accepting any files, including the one related to the appointment of the new Chief Secretary, the Union government, it is learnt, is conducting an exercise to choose the successor to Mr. P.K. Mohanty. The subject is likely to figure in the Union Cabinet meeting on Friday. The other possibilities are one of the eight senior IAS officers could be selected subject to their consent or in the event of President’s rule, the Governor could choose the next successor. Though Mr. Krishna Rao, Chief Commissioner of Land Administration is tipped to succeed Mr. Mohanty, all options are open for now, sources say. Sources in the GAD said if the Chief Minister does not examine the file related to the Chief Secretary’s appointment, it would be sent to the Governor. The officers in the zone of consideration include J. Satyanarayana, Indrajit Pal, R. Bhattacharya, R.P. Watal, M. Samuel, Chandana Khan, I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, I.V. Subba Rao and others.
