Kerala to get new Chief Secretary when husband hands over post to wife

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 21 (IANS) In a rare occurrence, Kerala's outgoing Chief Secretary Dr V. Venu will, on August 31, hand over the post to his wife Sarada Muraleedharan.

Decks for this unique transition were cleared on Wednesday as the cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, cleared the appointment of Muraleedharan in its weekly meeting.

Even though in the past in Kerala, there have been couples who have both held the top bureaucratic post, this is the first time when one succeeds another.

Venu, a medical doctor by qualification, and Muraleedharan both belong to the 1990 IAS batch.

This top post would have missed them had Dr Manoj Joshi, who was the seniormost bureaucrat in June 2023 but was on central deputation, returned to Kerala. Since Joshi preferred to remain in Delhi, the next seniormost official was Venu and he was appointed the Chief Secretary in June last year. Joshi will serve till 2027.

Muraleedharan, at present, is the seniormost bureaucrat in the state and hence got the coveted post.

Expressing happiness she said she was extremely lucky to see how the Chief Secretary works at close quarters as it was her husband who was holding the post before she takes over. "This is a rare chance and I saw everything and the challenges that lie ahead. We used to discuss things also," Muraleedharan said.

"The challenge ahead is the Wayanad rehabilitation programme and the advantage I have is that we, as a state, have done well when the challenge is big and my job will be to do the facilitation role," she added.

Muraleedharan has held crucial posts in the past, including the top post in the Kudumbasree Mission, the flagship women empowerment programme of the Kerala government which has won international accolades.

At present, she is the Additional Chief Secretary, Local Self Government, and her tenure as the bureaucratic head of the state will last till April 2025.

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