CHENNAI: Senior IAS officer Shiv Das Meena (59) is the new chief secretary to Tamil Nadu government. He succeeds V Irai Anbu who is retiring from service on Friday. Currently, Meena is secretary to Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department.
Meena, who will be assuming office on Friday, supersedes 10 senior IAS officers to become the 49th chief secretary of the state. After the DMK government assumed office in May 2021, the state government requested the repatriation of Meena to his parent cadre - Tamil Nadu.
At that time, Meena was chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board. Since May 2021, Meena has been secretary to the Municipal Administration Department. He had also served as one of the four secretaries to ex-CM J Jayalalithaa.
In 2013, when there were complaints about financial and other irregularities in Annamalai University in Chidambaram, Meena was appointed administrator of the university, holding the post from April 2013 to June 2015. During this period, he streamlined the administration of the university in a short span of time.
Meena is taking over the post months ahead of the Global Investors Meet scheduled for January 2024 and when steps are being taken to put the state’s finances back on track.
Born on October 5, 1964, a native of Tonk district in Rajasthan, Meena graduated in civil engineering from Rajasthan University. He has a master’s degree in international development studies from Kobe University, Japan. Belonging to the 1989 batch of IAS officers, Meena started his career as assistant collector in Kancheepuram district in 1989.
In the state government, Meena served in various departments including agriculture, higher education, commercial taxes, urban development, civil supplies, cooperation, revenue, rural development, Chennai Metro Water Supply and sewerage board, medical services board, etc. In the Union government, Meena held the post of additional secretary in Housing and Urban Affairs; chairman of Environment, Forest and Climate Change CPCB Central Pollution Board, New Delhi, etc. Meena had also served as a collector of the Nagapattinam district.