CHENNAI: In the first bureaucratic reshuffle under the newly formed government, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Sunday moved swiftly to put in place his core administrative team, appointing senior IAS officers P Senthilkumar and G Laxmi Priya as Secretaries to the Chief Minister.
The orders, issued by Chief Secretary M Saikumar within hours of the swearing-in of the new dispensation, marked the first major administrative exercise of the Vijay government to restructure the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).
Dr P Senthilkumar, who was serving as Additional Chief Secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Department, has been transferred and posted as Additional Chief Secretary and Secretary-I to the Chief Minister. A seasoned officer, Senthilkumar had earlier served in a similar role during the tenure of former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.
G Laxmi Priya, Secretary to government in the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, has been appointed Secretary-II to the Chief Minister. She is married to senior IAS officer Arun Roy, currently serving as the Industries Secretary.
The posts carry importance within the administration, as these secretaries often carry more clout in the government – and even in the ruling party – as the recent instances have shown. It may also be recalled how a petition was filed in the Madras High Court seeking to transfer one of the officials from MK Stalin’s CMO.
The government order said two temporary posts, Secretary-I and Secretary-II to the Chief Minister, had been created for a period of one year under the IAS cadre rules. The order further stated that the posts would carry status and responsibilities equivalent to senior cadre positions in the State administration.
The reshuffle also drew attention in bureaucratic circles for another reason: after nearly a year, a government order from the Secretariat was issued in English, a departure from the recent convention followed under the previous regime that all such orders would be issued in Tamil.