The UT Sports Department has received another deputation posting, and this time it’s Additional Director Sports — the post that had not existed on paper for the last over two decades.
Chandigarh Chief Secretary H Rajesh Prasad appointed Atul Nivruttirao Dhakne on Monday as the Additional Director (Sports), adding another officer to the department’s top brass. Dhakne is now also the first Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Civil Service (DANICS) officer appointed in the Sports Department.
Now, as per the new hierarchy, the department has Secretary (Sports), Director (Sports), Additional Director (Sports) and Joint Director (Sports) on deputation, all holding additional charges besides their responsibilities in the Administration. Thereafter, the chain of command comes down to other clerical staff and coaches — the segment which is still awaiting the introduction of a promotion policy for the past many years.
The post of Additional Director Sports was created in 2000 by the then Advisor (now Chief Secretary) Vineeta Rai. The then Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) also held the charge of Additional Director (Sports). As per the trend, subsequently the former ADC, Chandigarh, Inderjit Singh Sandhu held the post of Additional Director Sports in 2022 before making his way to become Director Sports Chandigarh in 2023. After Sandhu’s elevation as Director Sports, the UT Sports Department didn’t have an Additional Director Sports for many years until June 29, 2026.
The former Adviser had introduced the post in order to ease the workload of the Deputy Commissioner, who used to hold the additional charge of the Sports Department in the early 2020s. Even this time, Dhakne has joined the department in order to share the workload in organising two international events scheduled for next year, claimed sources.
However, the role of Additional Director Sports has not been made public yet, as the Sports Department now has one IAS officer, one PCS officer, one DANICS and one UT cadre officer — which is entirely different from the structure of 2020s, when the post was introduced.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Prasad remained unavailable to comment on the issue.
“The new arrangement in the department is perhaps to share the burden for conducting international events allotted to sports associations. However, it is to be seen whether the post of Additional Director Sports remains a regular feature in the department,” said a coach. On other hand, coaches with the department remained hopeful that a promotion policy will finally be introduced.
As the UT Administration has revived the post of Additional Director Sports, the coaches have been waiting for the appointment of a regular District Sports Officer (DSO) for nearly five years now. After the retirement of the former DSO Ravinder Singh Laddi, the Sports Department experimented by giving the additional charge of the post to some coaches. However, so far, the department is waiting for the appointment of a regular DSO in the absence of a proper promotion policy for coaches.
