Chandrababu’s chosen babus: Meet 3 IAS officers set to play key role in Andhra Pradesh CM’s office

Chandrababu’s chosen babus: Meet 3 IAS officers set to play key role in Andhra Pradesh CM’s office

Hyderabad: Into the third week of his new rule, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is continuing to affect big changes in the Andhra Pradesh bureaucracy, in what is being seen as an effort to erase his predecessor’s mark on administration while bringing in better efficiency.

In the process, Naidu went for a total overhaul of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), where 1997 batch IAS officer Peeyush Kumar was appointed as a principal secretary last week. He took charge Friday.

Kumar, a post graduate in Statistics, was serving as an additional secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry looking after WTO, MPEDA etc aspects. Prior to the Department of Commerce, he was a joint secretary in-charge of infrastructure finance in the Department of Economic Affairs, finance ministry.

Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Kumar was on central deputation earlier too from 2011 to 2018, when he served as deputy secretary and a director in the Department of Economic Affairs, involved in the Union Budget preparation. He was later a joint secretary in the Cabinet secretariat where he was looking after Direct Benefits Transfers (DBT).

“Now, in the CMO, my field is finance and related matters,” Kumar told ThePrint.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved Kumar’s repatriation to home-cadre following Naidu government’s request.

Sources said Naidu opted for Kumar as his experience and network of contacts in the key finance, commerce etc ministries in Delhi would be of immense help for his administration “tasked with restoration of AP’s finances (with Modi government’s aid) while also attracting huge investments to reinstate a robust business climate here.”

In Andhra Pradesh, Kumar worked as secretary, finance, commissioner of commercial taxes. He was the collector, Krishna district, a place where he had operated as an assistant and sub-collector in initial years. The IAS officer also has on-ground experience of executing a major infra project – Hyderabad’s Outer Ring Road – during Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy’s rule.

Notably, Kumar is the second principal secretary appointed in Naidu’s CMO. Muddada Ravichandra, a 1996 batch IAS officer, took charge as a principal secretary in the CMO a few hours before Naidu assumed charge in the AP secretariat at Amaravati on 13 June.

Under former CM Jaganmohan Reddy’s command, Muddada, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, was kept without a posting for a long time including the last one-year period of the YSRCP chief’s rule.

Naidu selected Muddada as his principal secretary, as the IAS officer, some local reports suggested, refused to give into pressure exerted by YSRCP authorities to act against the TDP chief when he was the opposition leader.

Muddada did not respond to ThePrint’s calls, and messages.

Unlike Kumar’s, Muddada’s IAS career till now, as per the AP Civil List, was spent within the state. He was collector Chittoor, Nellore and East Godavari districts, member secretary, AP Pollution Control Board in united Andhra Pradesh.

Muddada was posted by Naidu in the finance department as secretary (expenditure) for four years, till Jagan stormed to power in mid-2019. The bureaucrat was then sent as secretary to the social and tribal welfare departments. During the 2021-22 pandemic time, he was secretary and later principal secretary in-charge of Covid management and vaccination. For a few months, he also served as principal secretary (women, children, disabled and senior citizens).

Pradyumna P.S., a 2004 batch IAS officer, was appointed as a secretary in Naidu’s CMO, transferred from the post of secretary, transport, road and buildings and relieved from full additional charge as principal secretary (youth services and sports).

He worked with Naidu as joint secretary from January 2015 to April 2017. As per the AP Civil List website, he had also served as collector, Chittoor – Naidu’s home district – where he was a joint collector before.

Indicating his priorities, Naidu has also called back Kartikeya Misra, a 2009 batch IAS who went on central deputation in the Department of Financial Services, to join his office, a senior bureaucrat in the GAD, in-charge of such postings, told ThePrint.

The CMO appointments were affected after officers under Jagan were removed within three days of results.

Jagan’s team shunted out

With the poll results confirming Naidu’s return as CM, chief secretary K.S. Jawahar Reddy was soon after transferred without a posting, and “sent on leave.”

The 1990 batch IAS officer was appointed the top most bureaucrat in the state by Jagan in December 2022, disregarding the precedence of several senior officers. Jawahar was accused by TDP leaders of operating as a keyman in Jagan coterie, implementing the YSRCP agenda. Jawahar retires on Sunday.

Neerabh Kumar Prasad, the senior-most IAS in the state, of the 1987 batch was appointed the chief secretary who conducted the swearing-in ceremony of Naidu and other ministers. Due to retire Sunday along with Jawahar, Prasad was given a six-month extension of service by the DoPT on Naidu’s government request.

Prasad had earlier served as special chief secretary, environment and forests and chief commissioner of land administration. He had also served as Chittoor collector in 1998, during Naidu’s first term as CM of united AP.

Based on Prasad’s orders 7 June, Poonam Malakondaiah, IAS 1988, special chief secretary to CM, Mutyalaraju Revu, IAS 2007, secretary to CM and Narayana Bharath Gupta, IAS 2010, additional secretary, were transferred and asked to report to the General Administration Department (GAD) for further postings.

Since taking charge, Naidu has carried out transfers of about 40 IAS officers – from special chief secretaries to district collectors, in several cases shunting officers seen as having allegedly maintained close association in YSRCP circles.

“I’ll set things right,” Naidu reportedly told the AIS officers in a courtesy meeting on the day he assumed the CM chambers, while expressing his “dismay, displeasure” over some of them “operating unfairly, partisanly the last few years under Jagan”.

Earlier, the CM refused to meet some senior IAS officers, who came to meet him with flower bouquets, while he kept some waiting for long hours.

Y. Srilakshmi (IAS 1988), special CS of municipal administration and urban development, Rajat Bhargava, IAS 1990, special CS of revenue (excise) and youth advancement, tourism-culture, Praveen Prakash, IAS 1994, principal secretary, school education, and D. Muralidhar Reddy, IAS 2006, VC & MD, AP Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation were transferred from their posts on 19 June and directed to report to GAD for further postings.

(Edited by Tony Rai)