The newly formed Tamil Nadu government has appointed Gagandeep Singh Bedi IAS as Greater Chennai Corporation’s Commissioner. Gagandeep will be replacing G Prakash, who has been serving as GCC’s Commissioner since February 2019. Gagandeep, an officer well known in the state, became a household name first for his work when he served as Cuddalore district’s Collector during the most devastating disasters in its history -- the tsunami of 2004.
Gagandeep Singh Bedi is currently posted as Tamil Nadu’s Agricultural Production Commissioner and Agriculture Principal Secretary. Gagandeep was also Cuddalore District Monitoring Officer for COVID-19. G Prakash’s new posting is yet to be announced.
In the transfer order, Chief Secretary Irai Anbu stated that Bedi’s post will be equivalent in status and responsibilities to the cadre post of Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner.
Born in Punjab in 1968, the newly appointed Commissioner is an engineer and has also had a teaching stint. He was posted with the Indian Railways in 1993 after being selected for the Indian engineering services. He was immediately selected for the Indian Administrative Services the same year and appointed in the Tamil Nadu cadre.
Following this, he has held several portfolios including - Commissioner of the Madurai Corporation, Assistant Collector and Collector of Kanyakumari and Cuddalore districts.
Known as a sincere and hardworking official, he has received several awards for his work - from the Green award in 2003 and 2004 to a national award in 2016 for implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA).
Among G Prakash’s achievements during his tenure as GCC’s Commissioner were decentralisation of waste management in the city’s 200 wards. He also inaugurated Chennai’s smart city project at Pondy Bazaar in T Nagar. His work done during COVID-19 pandemic too cannot go unmentioned.
However, he received flak when allegations emerged that the Chennai Corporation was showing favouritism regarding distribution of crucial tenders.
During his tenure, Prakash initiated projects including the command and control centre, smart poles with facial recognition cameras, and privatised solid waste management in many zones.