Suspense is almost over on the appointment of new Chief Secretary of AP. Senior IAS officer Nilam Sawhney is almost confirmed as the next CS. She is a 1984-batch officer currently working as the Secretary of Social Justice and Empowerment in the Government of India, Delhi. The Centre has just issued orders relieving Nilam from the Central services. The orders are issued based on the request made by the Jaganmohan Reddy government.
A few days ago, Nilam Sawhney along with MP Vijayasai Reddy met Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra Capital. Presently, Neerabh Kumar Prasad is acting as incharge CS. Undoubtedly, Nilam appointment is coming in a time of intense controversy. Ex CS LV Subrahmanyam was disrespectfully removed and transferred out of CS post following differences of opinion.
It is not yet clear why Jagan Reddy Circar chose to bring a woman IAS officer back to AP. Her husband Ajay Sawhney is also an IAS officer currently working as Secretary, IT services, GoI, Delhi. Analysts say that Jagan Reddy is trying to remove some of the negative image for his government by giving chance to a woman officer. However, Subrahmanyam’s humiliating transfer raised many questions on Jagan Reddy’s self-proclaimed credibility. It also raised doubts when BJP allegations of Jagan collusion with pastors to speed up religious conversions.