Days after a three-member search committee recommended former DGP M. Mahender Reddy for the post of chairperson of the beleaguered Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC), the Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan has approved the file.
Sources said the Governor signed the filed on Thursday paving the way for the appointment of Mr. Mahender Reddy as the chairperson of the Commission.
A search committee comprising the Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumar, Law Secretary and GAD Secretary had scrutinised 50 applications for the post of the Chairperson and recommended the name of Mr. Mahender Reddy for the top post. In all, 371 applications were received for the post of Chairperson and other members, in response to a public notification issued earlier this month by the Government. January 18 was the last date for submitting applications. The other members among the applicants would be shortlisted very soon and the names will be recommended to the Governor for approval, said Government sources.
Sources maintained that former IAS officer Akunuri Murali and former Additional DGP rank officer Dr. R. S. Praveen Kumar were approached to take up the challenging job. However, they declined it. The Government then issued notification and shortlisted Mr. Reddy.
Controversy ridden Commission
Riddled with controversy after the leakage of Group I and II question papers in the last two years, the TSPSC was under the scanner with the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) drawing flak for the sad state of affairs. A Special Investigation Team probe into the affair brought out startling fact about insider involvement and dozens of candidates securing jobs by paying huge sums to manage the question papers.
As soon as the Congress Government came to power, the incumbent chairperson B. Janardhan Reddy and other members tendered their resignation in December. The Governor accepted the resignation in January enabling the Government to set in motion the revamp of the Commission.
Seasoned police officer
A 1986 batch IPS officer, Mr. Mahender Reddy began his career as ASP Godavarikhani and went on to serve as Additional SP, Bellampally, Superintendent of police of Nizamabad and Kurnool districts. He also had a stint as the Commissioner of Police Hyderabad and Cyberabad before going on to become Additional DGP Intelligence. He was elevated as the DGP in November 2017 and retired in December 2022.
A no-nonsense officer with impeccable track record, Mr. Reddy is an alumni of Andhra Pradesh Residential School, Sarvail in the then Nalgonda district. He went on to complete his degree in engineering from Regional Engineering College, Warangal (now NIT) and M.Tech from IIT, Delhi before writing the civil services and getting into the IPS in 1986. Mr. Reddy hails from old Khammam district.
An onerous task awaits Mr. Reddy as he takes charge of the crisis-ridden Commission and brings back its functioning back on rails. A transparent approach with clear timeline to hold the cancelled and postponed competitive examinations and committed efforts to fill up the large number of vacancies would go a long way in improving the image of the Commission.
