D. Karthikeyan, Commissioner of the Department of Archaeology, took charge on Monday as the Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation, as the Government made a minor reshuffle of bureaucracy. Former Commissioner Dr. Chandra Mohan. B, who focussed on initiatives to beautify the city, took charge as Revenue Secretary.
The reshuffle assumes significance in view of the upcoming Local Body elections and the pressing need to complete a number of civic infrastructure projects before its announcement.
Mr. Karthikeyan was the Corporation Commissioner and Chief Election Officer during the Assembly elections in 2011 and Local Body elections in 2011. In 2011, Mayor Saidai Duraisamy of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won with a margin of over 5.20 lakh votes in the election, defeating former Mayor M.Subramanian of the DMK, becoming the first AIADMK Mayor of the city. Mr. Karthikeyan also conducted the first election after the Corporation limits were expanded by merging several adjacent local bodies covering 426 sq km.
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On Monday, Mr. Karthikeyan participated in a review meeting at the Secretariat after taking charge as Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner. During his earlier stint as Corporation Commissioner, Mr. Karthikeyan also played a key role in speeding up infrastructure development projects across the city. He is known to focus more on performance of officials at the Corporation.
July 31 deadline for projects
With a large number of works yet to be completed in the city, the civic body is said to have set a deadline of July 31 for completion of key projects. Of the 8000 interior roads proposed to be re-laid at Rs.500 crore, the civic body has been able to complete just 5200 roads so far. Just 173 of the 236 bus routes have been completed so far. The work, estimated at Rs.250 crore started last year.
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