Newly-appointed power secretary Subhash Chandra Garg on Friday said his request for voluntary retirement had no connection with his transfer from the finance ministry as he had discussed it with the Prime Minister’s Office on July 18.

“I had discussed my VRS (voluntary retirement) with the Prime Minister’s Office on July 18…much ahead of the transfer order. There is no connection between the two,” Garg told reporters.

He said the proposal was sent much before the transfer and he was grateful to the government for its support.

Asked whether his VRS proposal had been accepted by the government, he said there was a due process for it and the proposal was under consideration. Earlier in the day, Garg took over as power secretary.

Garg had formally applied for VRS on July 24. His application has gone to the Rajasthan cadre for further processing. He is expected to serve as power secretary for the three-month notice period.

Garg, the senior-most officer in the ministry of finance, was shifted to the power ministry on Wednesday.

Asked why he didn’t sign the Bimal Jalan Committee report (on RBI reserves), he replied that the panel had not completed its deliberations.

He added that the new government representative will have to take a call on the same.

Sources said the committee will meet soon and take on board the view of the new finance secretary. They indicated that the dissent note sent by Garg may not form part of the report as it has not been finalised.