Tue Apr 29 15:06:12 UTC 2025: ## Upright IAS Officer Ashok Khemka Retires After 34-Year Career Marked by Frequent Transfers

**Chandigarh, India** – Ashok Khemka, a Haryana-cadre IAS officer renowned for his anti-corruption stance, is retiring today after a 34-year career marked by an unprecedented 57 transfers. The 1991-batch officer, known for his outspokenness, will leave his post as Additional Chief Secretary, Transport Department.

Khemka rose to national prominence in 2012 after cancelling a land deal linked to Robert Vadra, son-in-law of then-Congress President Sonia Gandhi. This act, along with numerous other instances of challenging powerful figures, is believed to have contributed to his frequent reassignments. His last transfer to the Transport Department occurred in December 2024, nearly a decade after a previous stint in the same department was cut short.

Despite his distinguished academic record, including a B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur, a PhD from TIFR, and an MBA, Khemka’s career has been characterized by an average transfer every six months. In 2023, he wrote to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, requesting a posting to the vigilance department to combat corruption, highlighting the lopsided distribution of work within the bureaucracy. He stated that he had consistently been assigned to “low-profile” departments over the past twelve years.

Khemka’s dedication to his principles has come at a cost, as he himself acknowledged in a tweet following a round of promotions in which his peers were appointed as Secretaries to the Government of India. His frequent transfers, he observed, served as a testament to his uncompromising approach. Even with his retirement, Khemka’s legacy as an officer who prioritized integrity over career advancement remains firmly established.

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