Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Nov 28: In all possibility, additional chief secretary of the state, Ratna Prabha, will be appointed as the next chief secretary of Karnataka state. Current chief secretary, Subhash Chandra Khuntia, is set to retire on November 30.

If this happens, Ratna Prabha will be the second woman from Karnataka to concurrently hold top post in the state with Neelamani N Raju, who happens to be the director general and inspector general of police (DG & IGP), Karnataka. This will be a new leaf in the history of Karnataka.

Although three top officials are pitted against each other for the top post at present, chances of Ratna Prabha getting the nod are bright, it is being analyzed. The state cabinet has already vested the power to choose the new chief secretary with chief minister, Siddaramaiah. Orders are expected to be issued in a day or two in this connection.

Names of S K Pattanayak, whose services have been lent to the centre, Lata Krishna Rao and T M Vijaya Bhaskar, also appear in the list of officers eligible for the post, but K Ratna Prabha has bright prospects of getting the coveted post.

Sources say that Siddaramaiah is inclined to give this top post to a woman, after giving the post of the DG & IGP to a woman sometime back. A farewell programme is being arranged for outgoing official, Subhash Chandra Khuntia, on Tuesday.