Reporter's diary: Clueless, curious & awaiting the decision

CHENNAI: With TN Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu inching towards superannuation in a few weeks’, Fort St George is buzzing over two scenarios. Will the no-nonsense top official’s term be extended? Or would Chief Minister MK Stalin pick someone new for the coveted post?

It was during the pandemic that the previous AIADMK regime extended the tenure of the then Chief secretary K Shanmugham. The former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa went a step further during her stint, and appointed retired IAS officers as advisors to the government.

We’re eagerly waiting to know the development on this subject and are clueless on the issue. The grapevine is that the names of senior IAS officers like Hansraj Verma, Vikram Kapur, Shivdas Meena and K Phanindhra Reddy are also making rounds for the top post. Most senior officers belong to batches between 1986 to 1990. The State recently elevated 8 IAS officers (1992 batch) as additional CS.

“The State government had recently kickstarted the transfer of IAS and IPS officials at the district level and the transfer of senior officials has been awaited since 2021. Further, with the Lok Sabha polls scheduled next year, more transfers and changes will also be initiated by the Election Commission of India,” an informed official said. “The general practice ahead of polls is to transfer officials who had completed over 3 years in a particular district or post that’s related to elections.”