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The Himachal Pradesh government has appointed Prabodh Saxena, a 1990-batch IAS officer who retired as Chief Secretary on Tuesday, as Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd (HPSEBL) for a period of three years.

 

His appointment has raised eyebrows, as the notification came within hours of his retirement from the top post. Moreover, he has been granted the rank, status, and responsibilities of Chief Secretary to the Government of Himachal Pradesh even after retirement.

 

As per the notification, he will work under the overall administrative control and supervision of the Chief Minister.

 

Saxena was earlier given a six-month extension in March 2025, and at that time too, the Government of India’s communiqué was issued just as officers were giving him a formal farewell. He is the only Chief Secretary in Himachal Pradesh to have got a six-month extension.

 

His name was reportedly been pushed for the post of Chairman of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC). However, due to some glitches, the selection did not go through. Consequently, on the same day Saxena was appointed as Chairman of HPSEBL, a notification was also issued cancelling the selection process for the SERC post.

 

To make way for Saxena’s posting, the government transferred HPSEBL Chairman Sanjay Gupta, the seniormost IAS officer in the Himachal cadre (1988 batch) at present, to the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board. Gupta too will work under the Chief Minister’s administrative control and will hold the rank and status of Chief Secretary.

 

Saxena was in news in March this year for wrong reasons when he hosted a Holi party for the bureaucracy at a Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) hotel in Shimla. He had sent the bill of over Rs 1.25 lakh to the state government’s General Administration Department (GAD). When questioned by the media, he justified the expense by stating that even the Chief Minister and Governor host Holi functions for the public.

 

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