The Union government has cleared the name of Water Resources Secretary V K Duggal for the post of Union home secretary, setting to rest speculation about who would succeed Dhirendra Singh.
Singh retires on March 31.
The department also cleared Additional Secretary (Telecom) J S Sharma for the post of telecom secretary. Sharma is a 1971 batch Indian Administrative Services officer.
Duggal, an IAS officer of 1968 batch from the Union Territory cadre, will have a stint of seven months as home secretary.
While around a dozen more secretary-level changes are imminent, speculation was rife about the name of next home secretary. It was being said Information and Broadcasting Secretary Naveen Chawla was also in the race for the coveted post with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's blessings.
Chawala may have lost in the race because of his retirement in July.
It was being speculated that to enable Chawla a longer tenure as home secretary, the tenure of home and defence secretaries would be fixed at two years.
However, the Prime Minister's Office shot down the fixed tenure idea earlier this month.
In fact, three names were being discussed for the post of home secretary -- D T Joseph, secretary in the shipping ministry; P K Hota, health and family welfare secretary, and Duggal.
While the home ministry was reportedly keen on Joseph, the idea did not find favour with the other decision makers. After that, Duggal's name was considered and cleared.
Duggal has held a variety of posts after a stint as a short service commission officer in the Army.
He had a trouble-free stint in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as commissioner between 1996-2000. It was there that his networking skills with both Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress politicians were honed.
He gained fame when he organised a massive civic reception for then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Red Fort, during his tenure.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP were expecting Chawla to be named home secretary, which would have given them an opportunity to attack Sonia.
The rest of the appointments, including that of the defence secretary, are expected to be announced soon.
