The straight trees are always cut first: Ashok Khemka over his batchmates’ secretary jobs
Ashok Khemka, a senior bureaucrat, said straight trees always get cut when he heard his batchmates were getting jobs in different government departments.
IAS officer Khemka currently serves as Principal Secretary (Additional Secretary level) in Haryana, his cadre state.
Sixteen senior bureaucrats, including his batchmates, have been appointed as secretaries in various Central government departments by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
“Congratulations to my batchmates who got appointed to the GOI! This is an occasion for merrymaking but also brings a sense of despondency for oneself. It’s always best to cut straight trees first. There are no regrets. Khemka tweeted, “I’ll persist with renewed resolve.”
Congratulations to my batchmates newly appointed as Secretaries to GOI! While this is an occasion for merry, it brings equal measure of despondency for one’s own self having been left behind.
Straight trees are always cut first. No regrets. With renewed resolve, I shall persist.— Ashok Khemka (@AshokKhemka_IAS) October 19, 2022
An IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh’s 1991 batch has been named Secretary at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
In Wednesday’s reshuffle, Khemka’s fellow batchmate Shailesh Kumar Singh from the Jharkhand cadre was named Rural Development Secretary.
In the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sudhanshu Pant has been appointed Secretary after incumbent Sanjeev Ranjan retires on January 31, 2023.
Some officers from the 1991 batch have been appointed as secretaries in the central government.
