CM, Stalin lose right hand men to Centre

Deputy chief minister M.K. Stalin will soon lose his right hand man. Principal secretary, rural development and panchayat raj, K. Ashok Vardhan Shetty is moving out of the state to take up a new posting at the Centre.

Mr Stalin’s father, chief minister M. Karunanidhi, will also be without a trusted lieutenant, with T.V. Somanathan, who was looking after the implementation of the ambitious Metro Rail project, also moving to Delhi. It’s not that these two efficient senior IAS officers have fallen out of favour; they have been forced to opt for Central service to be eligible for future promotions.

Ever since the Centre issued a notification last year making it compulsory for babus to serve in Central deputation for a minimum of three years to be entitled to top positions in Central ministries, there has been a steady flow of IAS officers moving to Delhi. Transport commissioner S. Machendranathan and commercial taxes secretary T. Jacob will be shortly moving to Delhi where they have new assignments.

In the past year, several senior bureaucrats like M.F. Farooqui, C.V. Shankar, J. Radhakrishnan, Smitha Nagaraj, Shakthikanta Das, Ambuj Sharma, Supriya Sahu, N. Muruganandam, R. Jaya, Anandrao Vishnu Patil, Brajendra Navnit and T.S. Jawahar moved to the Central postings. Sources say the list is expected to grow longer as some senior IAS officers like Atulya Misra and Ram Mohan Rao are likely to get ‘plum’ posts as heads of port trusts.

Asked about moving to the Centre service when the DMK regime is gearing up to face Assembly elections in a year’s time, a senior official said it is necessary for an IAS officer to serve for a minimum of three years at the Centre to be considered for promotion in Central ministries. On the sudden spurt in babus moving to Delhi, chief secretary K.S. Sripathi told Deccan Chronicle that there is always a certain percentage of officers required for Central deputation. “It also helps the officers in their career,” he said.

“They would have acquired a wider view when they return to the state. Their presence in various ministries will also help in proper monitoring of Central schemes and reorienting of funds,” he said.