All the Sheila’s men

...by the way
All the Sheila’s men

What is it that a Chief Minister wants to do but can’t? Even though Delhi has a sanctioned strength of 309 officers, only 163 officers are available to run the Government. This shortage of senior IAS officers is proving to be a blessing in disguise for Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, as she can retain all her trusted officers, defying the orders of the Union Home Ministry. DM Sapolia, Secretary (Finance), will in all probability become the new Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government after the present incumbent PK Tripathi retires. This becomes clear given the work that Sheila put in to get Sapolia into her fold, getting Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to cancel his transfer as Chief Secretary of Arunachal Pradesh. Sapolia appeared to have been already selected as Chief Secretary when he took charge as Finance Secretary. On his part, Sapolia who did not have a good rapport with PK Tripathi appears to have patched up and made his way into the inner coterie of the Chief Minister. Rakesh Bihari, Principal Secretary, PWD and Urban Development, another contender for the post of Chief Secretary, also seems to be at loggerheads with Tripathi. Rakesh Bihari, an IAS officer of the 1977 batch, was not even considered for empanelment as Secretary in the Government of India and had to move the Central Administrative Tribunal, which passed an order in his favour. Reports emanating from the Delhi Government indicate that the all-powerful Chief Secretary, PK Tripathi, is tipped to be advisor to the Chief Minister upon retirement.