The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday, July 15, carried out a major reshuffle of senior IAS officers, transferring several key bureaucrats across departments including power, higher education, environment, industries and transport.
Among the prominent changes, J Radhakrishnan has been moved from his post as Additional Chief Secretary and Chairman and Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation (TNPDCL) to serve as Director of the Anna Administrative Staff College. He has also been appointed Director General of Training, replacing C Samayamoorthy, who was holding the additional charge.
V Arun Roy, who was serving as Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education, has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of TNPDCL. He will also head the Tamil Nadu Power Generation Corporation, Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation and Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation.
Dheeraj Kumar, who was Additional Chief Secretary and Commissioner of the Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institute (EDII), has been transferred as Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education, replacing Arun Roy.
Another notable change saw Supriya Sahu shifted from the Environment, Climate Change and Forests Department. She has been appointed Additional Chief Secretary and Commissioner of the Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institute. She will be succeeded by Kakarla Usha, who has been serving as Additional Chief Secretary, Public and Rehabilitation.
Kakarla Usha's previous portfolio will now be handled by E Sundaravalli, who has been elevated from Special Secretary to Secretary, Public and Rehabilitation.
The government also swapped the portfolios of two senior officers overseeing Information Technology and MSMEs. Pradeep Yadav, who headed the Information Technology and Digital Services Department, has been transferred as Additional Chief Secretary, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Atul Anand, who was heading the MSME Department, will now take charge of Information Technology and Digital Services.
In another key transfer, Nirmal Raj has been moved from his post as Industries Commissioner and Director of Industries and Commerce to become Secretary, Transport. He replaces M Vallalar, who has been appointed Commissioner of Labour.
P Umanath, who was Chairman and Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation, has been posted as Industries Commissioner and Director of Industries and Commerce, replacing Nirmal Raj.
Sigy Thomas Vaidhyan, who was Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Disaster Management, has been appointed Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Transport and Road Safety. He replaces D Baskara Pandian, who has been transferred as Director of Museums.
R Gajalakshmi, Commissioner of Land Administration, has been appointed Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise, replacing Pooja Kulkarni. Kulkarni has been posted as Chief Executive Officer of the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board.
Mageswari Ravikumar has been shifted from Director of Social Welfare to Director of Art and Culture, while R Brindha Devi replaced her to take charge as Director of Social Welfare.
D Rathna, Additional Secretary in the Housing and Urban Development Department, has been transferred as Additional Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.
The reshuffle also includes the appointment of Waghe Sanket Balwant, who was serving as Additional Collector (Development) and Project Officer of the District Rural Development Agency in Coimbatore, as Executive Director of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), replacing Sweta Suman.
