Additional Chief Secretary I.S.N Prasad to retire on June 30

Bengaluru: With still a month to go for the superannuation of I.S.N Prasad on June 30, the Government on Wednesday appointed Senior IAS Officer L.K. Atheeq as the next Additional Chief Secretary heading the Finance Department.

Prasad, who is the incumbent Additional Chief Secretary of Finance, is said to have expressed reservations over the implementation of the Congress party’s pre-poll guarantees citing financial implications.

Atheeq will take charge of the Finance Department upon the retirement of incumbent Additional Chief Secretary I.S.N. Prasad on June 30. As head of the Finance Department, he will oversee the State’s fiscal position while also ensuring to provide funds for the Congress Government’s five guarantees.

Meanwhile, the Government has appointed Atheeq as an Officer on Special Duty at the Finance Department, a temporarily created post. He will continue as Additional Chief Secretary (Rural Development and Panchayat Raj).

A 1991 batch IAS Officer, Atheeq was a Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office earlier. He was also a Senior Advisor at World Bank in Washington DC.

Atheeq had also served as CM Siddharamaiah’s Principal Secretary between May 2016 and 2018.

CM gets Political Secretaries and Advisor

Congress MLCs K.Govindaraj and Naseer Ahmed were appointed as Political Secretaries to Chief Minister Siddharamaiah on Thursday. They will enjoy the status of Cabinet Ministers, according to a notification.

In a separate notification, Congress poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu was appointed as Siddharamaiah’s Chief Advisor. He too will enjoy the rank of a Cabinet Minister.

IAS transfers

The State Government on Thursday appointed Rajendar Kumar Kataria as Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department. The other transfers are:

 Pankaj Kumar Pandey – Managing Director, KPTCL; Dr. N. Manjula, Secretary, Women and Child Development; B. Sharat, Managing Director, KUWS&DB; BWSSB Chairman N. Jayaram has been given concurrent charge as Secretary, Information and Public Relations. Jayaram also continues to serve as  the Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, which post he had been appointed last week.