PATNA, Nov. 6 -- In a sudden change, the Bihar government transferred Dipak Kumar Singh, additional chief secretary to the Governor, while he was on leave and the long delayed and vexed process for the appointment of vice-chancellors had just commenced. A 1992 batch IAS officer, Singh has been shifted to the Bihar State Planning Board as chief consultant. He will continue to hold the additional charge of Director General-cum-Chief Inquiry Commissioner, General Administration Department. The notification of shifting was issued soon after chief minister Samrat Choudhary called on Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain at the Raj Bhawan on Wednesday evening. According to Lok Bhawan sources, Singh is on leave and is likely to be back on Saturday. Singh's successor has not been named yet, though his shifting in the midst of the appointment process of vice-chancellors in the state universities has sparked speculations that the two may be linked. The interaction for appointment of VCs in two universities was completed on November 3-4, which led to a lot of backlash in the social media over omission of certain names in the screening despite the fact that they were found eligible on previous occasions. The interaction for the appointment of VCs in eight more universities is in the pipeline. Bihar Lok Bhawan had constituted search committees for the appointment of VCs in September. Out of 600-700 applicants for each university, only around 20-30 were shortlisted. Many universities in Bihar have been working under ad hoc arrangement as the term of the VCs expired months ago. The Chancellor's office had issued notifications for the appointment of six VCs on May 20 and another four VCs on June 3 this year. The last date for submission of online application in the prescribed format was June 30. After the appointment of VCs, the process for the appointment of Pro-VCs in all the 14 state universities is also scheduled to commence. The appointment of Pro-VCs has been stalled for years. The posts were advertised in June itself. Social analyst Prof NK Choudhary said that the positions of VC and P-VC hold the key to the growth of state's beleaguered universities and it would also be the first test for the Chancellor to appoint persons with integrity and unblemished track record. It will also be a big test of the Samrat government, as the bulk appointments would be the first since he took over as CM and the consultation between the CM and the Governor is a mandatory requirement....