CHENNAI: After controversy erupted over both the Minister and Secretary handling the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department, allegedly belonging to the upper caste community, the State government on Friday reassigned the department's top bureaucratic post.
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.
S Swarna, who was the HR&CE Secretary, was redesignated as Principal Secretary to the Tourism, Culture and Special Initiatives department.
D Karthikeyan, who served as secretary to the Municipal Administration and Water Resources department, has been posted as Chairperson and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). SA Raman has been appointed Managing Director of State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT).
In another key transfer, Sandhya Venugopal Sharma, Chairperson of TIDCO, has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary to the Planning and Development department.
TIDCO MD Sandeep Nanduri has been transferred as Special Secretary to the Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce department.
Former Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority Member Secretary G Prakash has been appointed Additional Commissioner of Revenue Administration in a newly created post, while V Shobana has been posted as Commissioner of Textiles.
Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, who was serving as Secretary to the Government, Commercial Taxes and Registration department, has been appointed Commissioner of Labour.
Among other transfers, Mageswari Ravikumar has been appointed Director of Social Welfare and K Senthil Raj has been posted as Director of Adi Dravidar Welfare.
D Baskara Pandian has been appointed Director of Transport and Road Safety, while T Charusree, returning from leave, has been posted as Director of Treasuries and Accounts.
Former Karur District Collector G Ravikumar has been posted as Tirupattur District Collector in place of K Siva Soundaravalli, who is proceeding on child care leave from June 1.
Asha Ajith has been appointed Director of Environment and Climate Change, while T Christuraj has been posted as Director of Survey and Settlement. 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 fresh postings in state corporations and departments.