NK Prasad takes over as AP Chief Secretary

Neerabh Kumar Prasad, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of 1987 batch, here on Wednesday, took over as the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh. He will hold the post till further orders.

L.V. Subrahmanyam, who was shunted out on Monday, handed over the charge to Prasad, currently the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration.

Subrahmanyam has been posted as the Director General of Human Resources Development Institute, considered an unimportant position. The 1983 batch official will retire after five months.

His transfer came amid reports of his differences with Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on various issues. Subrahmanyam had been appointed the Chief Secretary by the Election Commission after shunting out A.C. Punetha on the eve of the elections in April.

After coming to power in May, Jagan Mohan Reddy allowed him to continue. However, differences cropped between them. Jagan was reportedly unhappy with Subrahmanyam for announcing during his visit to Tirupati that non-Hindu employees of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) and other temples would be asked to quit.

The situation aggravated when the Chief Secretary last week issued a show-cause notice to Praveen Prakash, a senior officer handpicked by the Chief Minister.

Prakash, Principal Secretary (political), the General Administration Department, was issued the notice for including a few subjects in the recent Cabinet meeting without following due procedure.

Interestingly, Subrahmanyam's transfer order was issued in the name of Prakash.

BJP leader Lanka Dinakar alleged that Subrahmanyam was punished for trying to protect the sanctity of Tirumala temple.