Times News Network
Bangalore, May 5: In the mother of all overhauls, CM Kumaraswamy on Thursday transferred 91 bureaucrats, changed the Bangalore team, put women officers in 'action' postings and revamped the education department just five days before CET.
High-profile officer K Jairaj, on an assignment with the World Bank, is back as BMP commissioner, while IT secretary M K Shankarlinge Gowda is his BDA counterpart.
Low-key officer Anup Pujari replaces Gowda as IT/BT secretary. The BMP KAS team has been revamped. New Bangalore Urban and Rural ZP CEOs brought in.
V Ashok has been appointed special officer for Suvarna Karnataka celebrations. Five city police officials of DCP rank and below have been changed.
Rewarding achievers, CM has retained BMRDA chief Sudhir Krishna, who unveiled a plan for two Ring Roads and five townships.
He has also left undisturbed BWSSB MD N C Muniyappa and BMRCL (Metro Rail) MD V Madhu. Two officers who were shunted out — former BMRCL chief K N Shrivastava and former BWSSB MD Ashok Kumar Manoli — have been given 'minor' postings: minority welfare principal secretary and handloom development commissioner respectively.
Bescom chief G Kumar Naik has been replaced by CET Cell special officer Gonal Bheemappa, government representative on BIAL board; KSIIDC MD I M Vittal Murthy has been replaced by higher education secretary Sobha Nambisan.
Outgoing BMP commissioner K Jothiramalingam is new labour principal secretary, replacing Vatsala Watsa, who will be home secretary — said to be the first woman to occupy the post.
Outgoing BDA commissioner M N Vidyashankar is the new medical education secretary. The order posting Karnataka Co-operative Apex Bank MD B A Harish Gowda as medical education secretary has been withdrawn at the officer's request.
Almost the entire education team has been changed. CET special officer Gonal Bheemappa, higher education secretary Sobha Nambisan and medical education secretary D V Prasad (posted as CM's secretary some time ago) have been moved.
Three education novices — Kumar Naik, former food and civil supplies secretary Kaushik Mukherjee and Vidyashankar — have replaced them.
The CM also replaced the man in the land-deals hot seat: KIADB CEO G S Narayanaswamy, presently in Bengal on poll duty. He has been transferred without posting and replaced with excise commissioner D N Nayak.
Karnataka Land Army MD A S Srikantha, weathering a storm of protests, has been replaced with M S Ravishankar and left without a posting. Women are in 'action' posts: Vatsala Watsa and Sobha Nambisan at home and KSIIDC; Usha Ganesh is the new health secretary; Tara Ajai Singh (wife of Bangalore police commissioner) food and civil supplies secretary; M Shamim Banu DPAR secretary; Laxmi Venkatachalam urban development secretary; G Latha Krishna Rau revenue secretary (disaster management); and Malini Krishnamurthy DCP North.
D Thangaraj is the new transport secretary, C R Chikkamath excise commissioner and K M Shivakumar industries secretary, leaving six officers — B L Sridhar, Srikantha, Vittal Murthy, Narayanaswamy, G L Chandrashekaraiah and T Mukthamba — without posting.