CHENNAI
Following the reshuffle in the Tamil Nadu Cabinet on Thursday, the State government on Saturday transferred several key IAS officers in a major rejig. The transfers came amidst speculations over the past few days about an impending transfer of IAS officers.
T. Udhayachandran, Secretary I to the Chief Minister, was among the key officials who were transferred. He was posted as Principal Secretary to the Finance Department. N. Muruganandam, the incumbent Finance Secretary, was posted as Secretary I to the Chief Minister. Mr. Udhayachandran was appointed as Chief Minister’s Secretary 1 soon after M.K. Stalin took charge as the Chief Minister in May 2021. Mr. Muruganandam had been the Finance Secretary since November 2021.
Gagandeep Singh Bedi, who was appointed as the Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) soon after the present government came to power, has been transferred and posted as Principal Secretary to the Health and Family Welfare Department. J. Radhakrishnan, Additional Chief Secretary, Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection department, will be the new GCC Commissioner.
Other key officials who were transferred were P. Amudha, now posted as the Principal Secretary of Home, Prohibition and Excise Department from the post of Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department.
Ms. Amudha is the fourth woman to occupy that post. Santha Sheela Nair was the first woman to become the Home Secretary of Tamil Nadu. She held the post from 1999 to 2001. S. Malathi served as the Home Secretary between 2007 and 2010. Sheela Rani Chunkath served briefly in the post in 2011.
P. Senthilkumar, the incumbent Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Department, will replace Ms. Amudha as Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj. K. Phanindra Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Prohibition and Excise Department, was transferred and posted as the Secretary of Transport Department.
K. Gopal, Additional Chief Secretary, Transport Department, will be the new Vigilance Commissioner and Commissioner for Administrative Reforms. Shiv Das Meena, Additional Chief Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, was holding these posts as additional charge.
K. Manivasan, Principal Secretary, Public Works department (PWD), will be the new Principal Secretary, Tourism, Culture, and Religious Endowments Department. He will replace B. Chandra Mohan, who has been posted as Principal Secretary, PWD.
D. Jagannathan, Secretary, Public and Rehabilitation Department, was transferred and posted as Secretary, Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Department. K. Nanthakumar, Commissioner of School Education, was transferred and posted as Secretary, Human Resources Management (HRM) department.
Mythili K. Rajendran, Secretary, HRM, will replace S. Ganesh as the Commissioner of Indian Medicine and Homeopathy. Mr. Ganesh was posted as Director of Economics and Statistics. Vikram Kapur, Additional Chief Secretary, Planning and Development, was holding this post as additional charge.
