Manoj Kumar Parida who assumed charge as Chief Secretary of the Union Territory on Friday stated that his priorities would be to take quick decisions and to ensure that the programmes and policies of Government were implemented properly.
Though his predecessor, Chetan B. Sanghi was posted to Delhi almost two months ago, it was only on Thursday that Mr. Parida was relieved of charge as the Joint Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs in Delhi and issued posting orders to Puducherry.
Mr. Parida, who hails from Odisha, is an officer of the 1986 batch of the AGMU (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre.
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Mr. Parida who paid a visit to the famed Manakula Vinayakar temple, accompanied by District Collector S. Sundaravadivelu, before joining duty, also made a courtesy call on Chief Minister N. Rangasamy later in the evening.
Addressing the media at his office in the Chief Secretariat, Mr. Parida said he looked forward to serving the people and working in harmony with the political leadership.
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He also promised to look into the UT’s problems and do what was required under the law and principles of governance.
‘A lovely place’
On his first taste of Puducherry, he said it was a “lovely place”.
“I always dreamt of working in a beautiful city in south India. One has heard a lot about the special history, cultural vibrancy and spiritual richness of Puducherry. It is indeed a privilege to work here,” Mr. Parida said.
Technically, this is not his first stint in south India as he has served as Collector in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Mr. Parida started his career in Goa and has also worked in various capacities in Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha.