HYDERABAD: Senior IAS officer Shailendra Kumar Joshi, who played a crucial role in getting early clearances and speedy execution of irrigation projects for the State, was rewarded by the State government on Wednesday. Keeping several senior special chief secretaries aside, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao chose Joshi as the fourth Chief Secretary of Telangana.
Joshi will be in office for almost two years. That means he will be in the top post when the ruling TRS would face the Assembly elections in 2019. As the next two years are very crucial for the ruling party, the State government opted for Joshi. Till now, Joshi has been the special chief secretary (Irrigation) and played vital role at various occasions, when the State decided to divert the Godavari waters to parched lands. Joshi was the man behind the State government smoothly signing an MoU with Maharashtra, which helped TS start the construction of Kaleshwaram.
Joshi was also instrumental in filing the counters before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in getting environmental and other clearances for the Kaleshwaram project. Even the Central Water Commission (CWC) team visited the Kaleshwaram site recently and complimented the project as an engineering marvel.The major election plan of the TRS in 2019 would be the successful inauguration of Kaleshwaram project. Thus, the State had also given full additional charge of Irrigation department to Joshi.
Studied Telugu as third language in UP
Born on December 20, 1959 in Bareilly of Uttar Pradesh, Joshi studied Telugu as third language. Joshi did his electronics and communications engineering from IIT, Roorkee, Master of Technology from IIT Delhi and completed PhD in TERI School of Advance of Studies on “Inter-Governmental Fiscal Transfers and the Environment - A Study of India”.
Worked in implementing Kyoto Protocol
SK Joshi had a nine year stint in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change dealing with Ganga River Conservation, International Cooperation handling and negotiating Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting substances, Conventions on Climate Change and Biodiversity. He also served for a year as the Vice-Chairman of Joint Implementation Mechanism of Kyoto Protocol in Bonn, Germany.
I believe in team work: SK Joshi
Speaking to reporters after assuming the charge, Joshi said he believes in team work. He thanked the Chief Minister for choosing him for the coveted post. “The schemes of the government are going at a brisk pace. We will further improve the speed and implement the projects,” Joshi added.