Chennai, May 9 (IANS): IAS officer Gagan Singh Bedi has been appointed the new Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner, replacing G. Prakash who has held the post since 2019.

Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu, in order, said that Bedi, a 1993 batch officer, will replace Prakash.

Chennai is battling thee Covid pandemic and Bedi will have his job cut out to contain the virus from spreading as the city has become a hotspot.

A graduate engineer in electronics and electrical communication, Bedi joined the Indian Engineering Services in 1993 and was posted with the Indian Railways, and in the same year, he got into the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) in the Tamil Nadu cadre.

Bedi is known as a no nonsense, honest and upright officer and has made his mark as Additional Collector, Cuddalore, Commissioner, Madurai Corporation and Collector of Kanyakumari and Cuddalore districts. He was also the Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board and was Secretary of Rural Development and Panchyat Raj department.

Presently, he was serving as the Principal Secretary, Agriculture. He has also served as the District Monitor officer of Covid-19 in Cuddalore.

As Collector of Cuddalore, he was hailed for his efforts in relief and rehabilitation work when the tsunami struck the district in 2004.