CHENNAI: With Covid-19 positive cases rising dangerously in Chennai, the state government on Friday brought back J Radhakrishnan to replace Beela Rajesh as the health secretary.
Sources said Greater Chennai Corporation commissioner G Prakash may soon be replaced by Pankaj Kumar Bansal, who is now special coordinator for the corporation. Sources said Beela’s style of functioning, often not taking into confidence even her senior colleagues, had incurred her the wrath of many in the government. And the spike in Covid-19 cases in Chennai hastened her exit. Top sources said the order came from chief minister K Palaniswami on Friday morning.
“It came out of blue. There was no discussion till last night, though there was some speculation,” said a senior bureaucrat. Radhakrishnan, who was the health secretary before being appointed as the commissioner of revenue administration and disaster management makes a comeback after being made the special nodal officer for the Greater Chennai Corporation on May 1.
“After the initial momentum to trace the Tablighi Jamaat cluster, the health department failed to coordinate. The record spike in Chennai put the government in a spot, and something had to be done,” said a top official.
Radhakrishnan is one of the officers who has the chief minister’s ears. He drops by almost daily to brief the chief minister. A team player who delegates work to juniors, Radhakrishnan starts his day early morning with field visits. He distributes free masks to people wherever he goes. Radhakrishnan has been a go-to person for Tamil Nadu government for disaster management ever since his stint in Nagapattinam during the 2004 tsunami.
The political leadership had taken note of his work also during the 2015 floods and the Gaja cyclone. “His stint at Ripon Buildings as the Chennai corporation commissioner in the late 90s and his long tenure as the health secretary makes him a natural choice during the crisis,” said a senior official.
Outgoing health secretary Beela Rajesh has been advocating increased testing and intensified surveillance, but Chennai remained “out of bounds” – as an official put it – for her as several senior bureaucrats were working on containment zones, contact tracing and testing in the capital city. “Beela has been asking for more testing,” said a health expert who worked with her. “It remains to be seen if the testing in Chennai goes up or down in Chennai; that will reflect the new plan.”
Sources said Greater Chennai Corporation commissioner G Prakash may soon be replaced by Pankaj Kumar Bansal, who is now special coordinator for the corporation. Sources said Beela’s style of functioning, often not taking into confidence even her senior colleagues, had incurred her the wrath of many in the government. And the spike in Covid-19 cases in Chennai hastened her exit. Top sources said the order came from chief minister K Palaniswami on Friday morning.
“It came out of blue. There was no discussion till last night, though there was some speculation,” said a senior bureaucrat. Radhakrishnan, who was the health secretary before being appointed as the commissioner of revenue administration and disaster management makes a comeback after being made the special nodal officer for the Greater Chennai Corporation on May 1.
“After the initial momentum to trace the Tablighi Jamaat cluster, the health department failed to coordinate. The record spike in Chennai put the government in a spot, and something had to be done,” said a top official.
Radhakrishnan is one of the officers who has the chief minister’s ears. He drops by almost daily to brief the chief minister. A team player who delegates work to juniors, Radhakrishnan starts his day early morning with field visits. He distributes free masks to people wherever he goes. Radhakrishnan has been a go-to person for Tamil Nadu government for disaster management ever since his stint in Nagapattinam during the 2004 tsunami.
The political leadership had taken note of his work also during the 2015 floods and the Gaja cyclone. “His stint at Ripon Buildings as the Chennai corporation commissioner in the late 90s and his long tenure as the health secretary makes him a natural choice during the crisis,” said a senior official.
Outgoing health secretary Beela Rajesh has been advocating increased testing and intensified surveillance, but Chennai remained “out of bounds” – as an official put it – for her as several senior bureaucrats were working on containment zones, contact tracing and testing in the capital city. “Beela has been asking for more testing,” said a health expert who worked with her. “It remains to be seen if the testing in Chennai goes up or down in Chennai; that will reflect the new plan.”
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