CHENNAI: Dr S Aneesh Sekhar (38), an IAS officer who has put in more than 12 years of service as civil servant, has resigned from his post. His resignation was accepted and he was relieved from service on Thursday. Sources said he resigned due to personal reasons. Sekhar could not be reached for comments.
Hailing from Kerala, Sekhar is a doctor by profession. He held several positions during his stint as civil servant. Known as an honest officer, his tenure as collector of the Madurai district was one of his memorable assignments. Sekhar had also served as commissioner of Madurai Corporation.
As Madurai collector, Sekhar once advised all government employees to go to their office at least once a week on bicycle to spread awareness of the impact of climate change and other environmental concerns. He also set a precedent by reaching the collectorate by bicycle. Last year, participating in National Voters Day, Sekhar had said the youth should contest elections instead of remaining just voters.
In his early days, Sekhar served as a sub-collector in Salem district. He held certain key posts in the departments of commercial taxes, and revenue besides serving in the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu and Guidance Tamil Nadu and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. When Sekhar resigned, he was the managing director of ELCOT.
In recent years, many IAS officers have opted for VRS. They include Vijay Maruthi Pingale, Santhosh Babu, U Sagayam, Santosh K Misra and Jagmohan Singh Raju. Interestingly, Santhosh Babu, after quitting the civil service career, joined the Makkal Needhi Maiam of actor Kamal Haasan in 2020 and unsuccessfully contested the 2021 Assembly elections from Velachery. However, within six months, Santhosh Babu quit the MNM for personal reasons. Shambhu Kallolikar took VRS in November 2022 and contested the Karnataka Assembly elections last year.