Chandigarh, Jan. 17 -- Haryana chief secretary (CS), Anurag Rastogi who underwent a coronary artery bypass grafting also known as heart bypass surgery at Fortis Hospital in Mohali on January 9 will continue to hold the charge of CS. He is on medical leave till January 22, as per an official communication. Putting to rest the speculations about a possible replacement during his medical leave, the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the chief secretary in a communication to five IAS officers posted in the chief secretary's establishment wrote that the CS has directed that these IAS officers will put up all cases directly to the chief minister in which the CM is the competent authority. "He has also directed that cases wherein CS is the competent authority shall be cleared by the respective IAS officers at their own level from January 16 onwards. A daily list of all such pending cases shall be sent to the OSD by 5 pm every day," reads the communication. The communication has been addressed to five IAS officers handling human resources, general administration, personnel, training and parliamentary affairs, vigilance and secretariat establishment in the CS office. The chief secretary has also advised the five IAS officers to not proceed on leave during his absence, directing that prior permission of the chief minister must be obtained in unavoidable circumstances. This effectively means that IAS officers posted in the chief secretary's office will process files relating to the subjects allotted to them and take decisions that would otherwise have required the chief secretary's final approval. The same model is expected to be replicated in the finance and planning department, a charge also held by Rastogi. For instance, commissioner and secretary, human resources (HR) and general administration department (GAD), PC Meena will deal with all the files related to HR and GAD. Secretary, personnel, Pankaj would dispose-off matters related to personnel, training and parliamentary affairs departments, Varsha Khangwal will deal with vigilance matters, Samwartak Singh will deal with secretariat establishment matters and Priyanka Soni will dispose-off monitoring and coordination work. The directive issued after consultation with the chief minister's office is aimed at ensuring continuity in administrative decision-making during Rastogi's absence and to put to an end speculation about any substitution during his medical leave. Rastogi who was appointed as chief secretary in February 2025 was granted a one-year extension in service on June 19, 2025 by the Central government on proposal of the Haryana government. The 1990-batch IAS officer, who was due to retire on June 30, will continue to hold the charge of chief secretary till June 30, 2026....