Tamil Nadu government reshuffles top bureaucrats amid HR&CE controversy
Chennai, May 23:
Amid controversy over the leadership of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department, the Tamil Nadu government on Friday carried out a major bureaucratic reshuffle, reassigning several senior officials across key departments.
According to orders issued by Chief Secretary M Sai Kumar, former Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran has been appointed Secretary to the Commercial Taxes, Registration and Religious Endowments departments. The move comes in the backdrop of criticism that both the Minister and Secretary handling the HR&CE portfolio belonged to the upper caste community.
S Swarna, who previously served as HR&CE Secretary, has been redesignated as Principal Secretary to the Tourism, Culture and Special Initiatives department. In another key change, D Karthikeyan has been appointed Chairperson and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), while SA Raman has been posted as Managing Director of State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu.
Sandhya Venugopal Sharma, who served as TIDCO Chairperson, has been transferred as Additional Chief Secretary to the Planning and Development department. TIDCO Managing Director Sandeep Nanduri has been appointed Special Secretary to the Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce department.
Among other changes, former Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority Member Secretary G Prakash has been named Additional Commissioner of Revenue Administration in a newly created post, and V Shobana has been appointed Commissioner of Textiles. Shilpa Prabhakar Satish has been posted as Commissioner of Labour.
The reshuffle also includes appointments in social welfare and infrastructure departments. Mageswari Ravikumar has been named Director of Social Welfare, while K Senthil Raj has been appointed Director of Adi Dravidar Welfare. D Baskara Pandian will serve as Director of Transport and Road Safety, and T Charusree has been posted as Director of Treasuries and Accounts.
In district-level changes, former Karur Collector G Ravikumar has been appointed Tirupattur District Collector, replacing K Siva Soundaravalli, who will proceed on child care leave from June 1. Asha Ajith has been named Director of Environment and Climate Change, while T Christuraj will serve as Director of Survey and Settlement.
Further, RV Shajeevana has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project, and Lalitaditya Neelam has been posted as Commissioner of Salem Municipal Corporation. The government also announced additional postings across various state departments and corporations as part of the administrative overhaul.
