25 IAS, 27 IPS transferred in big overhaul by Naidu. Wait continues for 5 IAS officers ‘close’ to Jagan

Two IPS officers who were transferred out of Tirupati following the stampede that killed six devotees earlier this month were also given postings.

Hyderabad: Over seven months into administering Andhra Pradesh, the Chandrababu Naidu government has affected a major reshuffle in the top rungs of bureaucracy and police.

A total of 25 IAS officers and 27 IPS officers were transferred, according to two separate orders issued Monday evening by Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand.

While a few of the IPS officers who kept waiting for months—a delay being attributed to their alleged proximity with leaders of the opposition YSRCP—were given loop line postings, the wait continues for others.

Yerra Srilakshmi (1988 batch), Muralidhar Reddy (2006), Mutyalaraju Revu (2007), Madhavi Latha (2014) and Neelakanta Reddy (2017)—all of whom are attached to the General Administration Department (GAD)—are awaiting postings since June i.e., soon after Naidu took over.

Some of these officers had worked in proximity with former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy or are perceived to be close to the previous regime. One of the above officers is on election duty in Delhi while another is in mid-career training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA).

G. Sai Prasad (1991), who was a front-runner for the chief secretary post that finally went to Vijayanand (1992 batch) in December, got a noteworthy posting.

A special chief secretary (CS) to the state government in the Water Resources Department, Prasad is now re-designated as special CS, Water Resources Department, and ex-officio special chief secretary to CM Naidu.

“Prasad is senior to Vijayanand and should have become the CS. The arrangement now is, I think, to allow him to bypass the CS approval requirements pertaining to his department files etc., matters,” an IAS officer told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.

Prasad served as Naidu’s secretary and principal secretary from 2014 to 2019.

Peeyush Kumar (1997), who was called back from central deputation in June and appointed as principal secretary to the chief minister, has been transferred and posted as principal finance secretary. Peeyush also has full additional charge of the post of principal secretary, Planning Department. He is accompanying Naidu to the World Economic Forum Summit at Davos.

Suresh Kumar (2000), principal secretary, Infrastructure and Investment (I&I) Department, has been transferred and posted as principal secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban (MA&UD) Department. Kumar has also been relieved as FAC of the General Administration Department (Political).

Bhaskar Katamneni (2004), commissioner, AP Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), has been posted as secretary, Department of IT, Electronics and Communications (ITC&E) and also given full additional charge as secretary, Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) and Grama Sachivalayam, Ward Sachivalayam (GSWS), reliving Suresh Kumar.

Katamneni was given the AP Capital Region Development Authority charge only in June. CRDA is the executing agency of Naidu’s brainchild Amaravati capital project.

Kanna Babu (2006), secretary, Social Welfare Department, has been brought in as the commissioner, CRDA.

V Karuna, (2005), who was repatriated from Telangana in October and appointed the commissioner, Health and Family Welfare, has been posted as chief executive officer, Society for Elimination for Rural Poverty (SERP) & ex-officio secretary to the government.

Hari Narayanan (2011) director, Municipal Administration, has been posted as IG, Registration and Stamps.

In all, 25 officers were affected by the latest round of transfers in AP.

“Unfortunately, some of the officers were transferred within months from their roles they were just getting familiar with. These transfers are a deviation from Naidu’s mark of good governance,” an IAS officer said.