CHENNAI: Housing Secretary S Krishnan is now the new State finance secretary. He succeeds K Shanmugham, who has been appointed as Chief Secretary.
Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority member secretary Rajesh Lakhoni will be holding the additional charge of principal secretary, Housing and Urban Development department.
Krishnan who was earlier principal secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu, Planning and Development, has been one of the architects of the document, Tamil Nadu Vision 2023. After being transferred to the Housing department, he has brought in many reforms and ushered in transparency. He was one of the key persons in helping the State formulate a housing policy with the help of German agency Giz, the final draft of which is ready.
He was also instrumental in bringing in the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019, which were framed after a technical committee took into account the Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 of the Government of India, National Building Code, 2016, National Urban Transit-Oriented Development Policy, ease of doing business requirements, the United Nations’ New Urban Agenda 2016 and India Infrastructure Report, 2018.
Not only that, he even headed the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TNRERA) till a new chairman was appointed earlier this year. He was also instrumental in reducing the pending cases in the housing department. Krishnan was also helping the State in developing a commercial hub for Chennai in Anna Salai as well as formulating many infrastructure projects, including the second phase of Chennai Metro.
Interestingly, both Lakhoni and Krishnan had brought in reforms in Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority by keeping away middlemen and trying to resolve pending cases.
S Sridharan, the chairman of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, Tamil Nadu, said Krishnan was a progressive and aggressive officer who brought in reforms in the housing sector. He also welcomed Lakhoni taking over as housing secretary, stating that he is a capable and progressive officer who has good knowledge about the industry.