New Delhi: Less than a fortnight after taking oath as the Chief Minister of Telangana, Congress leader Revanth Reddy is busy reshuffling the bureaucracy and police forces, in what is being seen by many as an attempt to erase the imprints of two-time CM K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR).
Soon after assuming office on 7 December, Reddy affected two important changes — appointing 1999 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer V. Sheshadri as his principal secretary, and posting 1994 India Police Service (IPS) officer B. Shivadhar Reddy as the state’s intelligence chief.
Incidentally, Reddy was the first intelligence chief also under KCR.
Sheshadri has previously worked at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for seven years, before moving back to the home cadre in 2020.
A native of Karnataka, Sheshadri joined the PMO in 2013 as a director when Manmohan Singh was the prime minister. Later, as a joint secretary under Narendra Modi, he was looking after the appointments committee of the cabinet, judiciary, law and order, DoPT [Department of Personnel and Training], cabinet secretariat matters etc.
Sheshadri rejoined the state government in 2020 as a secretary in the chief minister’s office (CMO) under KCR. He was later given the additional charge of secretary, general administration department.
The CMO PS has the responsibility of coordinating various aspects of administration, file movements between different departments and the CMO.In Sheshadri’s case, his PMO experience and acquaintances are expected to help the Congress CM maintain a good relation with the centre.
Meanwhile, sources told ThePrint that some IAS officers who were seen as being close to the previous KCR government, and had been calling the shots in key departments, were being shunted to other posts which were perceived to be unimportant.
According to officials in the CM’s office, however, Revanth is trying to bring in sincere, upright officials to run an effective, efficient administration.
“The CM’s thinking that to live up to the people’s expectations and deliver on the Congress’s six guarantees [of Mahalakshmi, Rythu Bharosa, Gruha Jyothi, Indiramma Indlu, Yuva Vikasam and Cheyutha for women, farmers and the youth of the state] and other poll promises, we need competent officials who operate with concern for the public, society. The thumb rule is sincerity, capability and not where the official was during the past several years,” a key Revanth aide told ThePrint.
The CMO functionary added: “Let’s say, after a few months, the work feedback on the successors, replacements are negative, then these officials would also be moved out somewhere else.”
Among key officials who remain in the same posts, are Santhi Kumari, a 1989 batch IAS officer, and Ravi Gupta, a 1990 batch IPS, who continue to serve as Telangana chief secretary (CS) and director-general of police (DGP), respectively.
Kumari was made the CS in January, after the Telangana high court, while reviewing the All India Services (AIS) cadre allotment had sent back then CS Somesh Kumar to Andhra Pradesh. A sulking Somesh, after reporting to the AP government, later took voluntary retirement and was made KCR’s chief advisor in May amid talks of him joining the BRS.
A blue-eyed bureaucrat in the BRS regime, Somesh, a 1989 batch IAS hailing from Bihar, was made the CS in 2020 by KCR while superseding several senior officials.
Meanwhile, Gupta became the DGP after the Election Commission of India suspended Anjani Kumar who called on then Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee chief Revanth Reddy with a flower bouquet on 3 December, even as the counting of votes in the state was in the early stages.
The ECI revoked Kumar’s suspension last week after the official tendered an apology and also based on the state government’s recommendation. It has, however, asked the Telangana government not to associate him with any poll-related work in future. Kumar is now posted as chairman, Telangana Road Safety Authority.
Elections to the 119-member Telangana assembly were held on 30 November. In the results announced on 3 December, the Congress won 64 seats, surpassing the simple majority mark of 60 and marking the end of the two-term rule of the KCR-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi government.
BRS’s blue-eyed babus
Since becoming CM, Revanth has affected several transfers in the top bureaucracy, 11 of which came Sunday.
This includes the much-anticipated transfer of 1991-batch IAS officer Arvind Kumar, who had been serving as the special chief secretary in the Municipal Administration and Urban Development department under minister K.T. Rama Rao in the BRS government. Kumar had served in the post since January 2018.
He was also heading the important — from real estate perspective — Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and was commissioner and director of the Municipal Administration, with full additional charge.
In June, months before the November assembly polls in the state, Revanth slammed Arvind for legal notices sent to him over allegations of scam raised by the Congress leader in the Hyderabad Outer Ring Road lease to a private entity. Revanth had accused Arvind of talking, behaving like a politician, “and sending the notice to help the BRS”.
The IAS officer has now been moved to the disaster management department, while 1996 cadre officer Dana Kishore, who has earned credit as an efficient administrator and brought in reforms at the Hyderabad water works, has been given Arvind’s post and the two additional charges being handled by him.
The chief minister has also brought in 1999 cadre officer Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi as secretary, energy department and chairman and managing director (CMD) of Telangana State Power Generation and Transmission Corporations (TS-GENCO, TS-TRANSCO) to reform the power sector, which is reportedly in deep crisis.
The Congress government is blaming the “previous regime’s bad governance,” for the power utilities in “a deep financial crisis with a staggering debt of Rs 81,516 crore”.
Rizvi, an electrical engineer from IIT Kanpur, had earlier served as CMD of one of the power distribution companies.
Meanwhile, word is not yet out on 1992 cadre officer Jayesh Ranjan and 2001 cadre officer Smita Sabharwal, two other prominent faces in the BRS government.
As principal secretary in the key IT, electronics, industries and commerce departments, Ranjan had worked closely with KTR. He has served in the IT department since 2015.
Sabharwal, a secretary in the CMO, has been associated with KCR’s office since June 2014 when Telangana state was formed. She has been in charge of the important irrigation department, BRS’s ambitious drinking water scheme Mission Bhagiratha, and had also been monitoring the works of the Kaleshwaram irrigation project on the Godavari river.
While media reports have claimed that Sabharwal, wife of IPS officer Akun Sabharwal, has not greeted CM Revanth since he took charge, in a post on social media platform X (previously Twitter), the IAS officer has refuted what she said is “fake news of her going on central deputation”.
“It is totally false and baseless. As an #IAS officer of Telangana cadre, I will continue to serve and execute whatever responsibility the Government of Telangana deems fit for me. Am proud to be part of the journey of my state,” Smita posted on 13 December.
On 15 December, Sabharwal accompanied Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Danasari Seethakka for a departmental meeting.
“As IAS officers, we have to execute the job given by the incumbent government. Let’s see what the assessment about me is and if I remain here or asked to move,” a senior IAS official in a key department told ThePrint.
Police transfers
Changes have also been made in the Telangana police department, with CM Revanth choosing to give powers to officials who are perceived to be honest and upright by the people.
Kothakota Sreenivasa Reddy, an IPS officer of the 1994 cadre, serving as additional director general of police (ADGP, organisations and legal), has been made the Hyderabad city commissioner, while Avinash Mohanty, a 2005 cadre officer has been posted as Cyberabad Commissioner.
Sudheer Babu, a 2001 cadre IPS officer, has been given charge of the Rachakonda Commissionerate, which covers a part of the capital city.
Sandeep Shandilya, a 1993 cadre officer serving as the Hyderabad commissioner, has been made director of the Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau.
In a break from tradition, Shahnawaz Qasim, an IPS officer of the 2003 cadre, has been posted as secretary to the CM. These administrative jobs are generally handled by IAS officers.
Gummi Chakravarthy, superintendent of police (SP) Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau, has been shifted and temporarily attached as SP to CM’s Security Group (intelligence wing).
In an order issued Tuesday, listing the further transfers and postings of 20 IPS officers, the Revanth government announced 1991 batch officer C.V. Anand’s posting as director general of the state’s Anti Corruption Bureau, 1995 batch officer Mahesh Bhagwat as additional director general (ADG) roads and safety, and 1999 batch officer Stephen Raveendra’s posting as inspector general of police (IGP), Home-Guards.
These three officers had earlier served as the chiefs of Hyderabad, Rachakonda and Cyberabad commissionerates, respectively.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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Excellent action by new CM
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