Shakuntla Jakhu is Haryana's new chief secretary

Chandigarh, July 30 (IANS) Senior IAS officer Shakuntla Jakhu will be the new chief secretary of Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced Wednesday.

A 1978-batch Indian Administration Services officer, Jakhu will assume charge Thursday following the retirement of the outgoing S.C. Chaudhary. She is presently additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management.

The Hooda government has already cleared Chaudhary's name to be appointed as chairman of the Right to Service Commission.

In recent years, Haryana has seen four women IAS officers being elevated to the highest bureaucratic assignment. All women chief secretaries were made during the Hooda regime (2005-to date).

These include Urvashi Gulati (2009), Promila Issar (2007) and Meenaxi Anand Chaudhary (2005).

Ironically, Haryana has the worst sex ratio among states in the country at just 879 females per 1,000 males.