Andhra Pradesh chief secretary K Vijayanand, who is going to retire from service at the end of February, on completion of his extended three-month term, is likely to be appointed as chief advisor to chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu,
According to sources, Vijayanand, the most preferred IAS officer of both the previous YSR Congress party government and present Chandrababu Naidu government, holds the key in the administration.
He was supposed to retire in November last year, but got a three-month extension and he is to retire by the end of this month.
Sources said he is all set to be appointed as the chief advisor to the chief minister immediately after his retirement.
There are reports that Vijayanand could simultaneously be entrusted with full responsibility for the energy department, and possibly the Information Technology portfolio as well.
Interestingly, a similar arrangement was adopted during the YSRCP government, when former chief secretary Ajay Kallam was appointed as chief advisor to then chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, soon after his retirement.
Meanwhile, another senior IAS officer Sai Prasad is expected to assume the role of chief secretary after Vijayanand’s retirement.
He may continue in the post for about a year, following which he could be considered for another important assignment, such as Chairman of the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) or a similar key position.
Senior officer Muddada Ravichandra, who is currently serving as the chief secretary to chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, is likely to be appointed as the full-time Executive Officer (EO) of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
At present, Ravichandra is holding dual responsibilities, functioning as the CM’s Principal Secretary while also overseeing additional charge as TTD EO — a responsibility that was assigned to him only recently.
Officials say he will soon be given complete charge of the prestigious temple administration on a permanent basis.