The Tamil Nadu government on Monday appointed senior AIADMK leader and former Finance Minister C. Ponnaiyan as the vice-chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission.
Incidentally, the appointment was made on the day the AIADMK named its three candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls, scheduled for March 26.
The Tamil Nadu government had, in March 2017, announced that it would replace the State Planning Commission with the State Development Policy Council. However, the decision has not taken effect.
The Chief Minister is the chairman of the State Planning Commission.
Mr. Ponnaiyan has served as a Minister for various portfolios, including Finance, in the Cabinets headed by former Chief Ministers M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa. He was elected to the Assembly four times.