Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Dr Beela Rajesh was on Friday shunted out of the key post even as the state battles the coronavirus pandemic. Dr J Radhakrishnan, the Commissioner of Revenue of Administration and Special Nodal Officer for COVID-19 efforts in Chennai and her predecessor, will succeed her. Radhakrishnan will be at the helm of the department after 16 months and has several challenges as he takes over in the middle of a pandemic.
Dr Beela Rajesh's transfer in the middle of a pandemic has raised eyebrows even though it was widely expected for some time now. The face of the Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 fight, she earned praise for her deft handling of the crisis and the media initially. As the cases began to rise exponentially in the recent weeks, Dr Rajesh came under severe criticism along with Health Minister C Vijayabhaskar that the state was clueless on containing the virus. Besides, the Health Department also drew flak for not increasing the tests even as positive cases continue to mount. At last count on Thursday, the number of positive cases stood at 38,716 including 17,659 discharges and 349 deaths. Chennai is the biggest coronavirus hotspot in the state with 27,398 cases.
Dr Rajesh was appointed as Health Secretary in February 2019 after Radhakrishnan was moved to the Transport Department. She is now transferred as Secretary, Commercial Taxes and Registration Department.
This is the second transfer in the Health Department in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. S Nagarajan, an upright officer, was transferred out of Tamil Nadu Health Systems on June 1 and ironically, the then Health Secretary was blamed for the transfer.
Who is Dr J Radhakrishnan?
Radhakrishnan, who was hand-picked by the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa as Health Secretary in September 2012, is considered a disaster mitigation expert for his splendid work during the 2004 tsunami as the Nagapattinam district collector. He was at the helm during the 2015 Chennai floods and was at the forefront of the state’s efforts to contain the outbreak of Dengue in 2017. A seasoned bureaucrat, Radhakrishnan, 1992-batch IAS officer, was Health Secretary for over six years from September 2012 to February 2019.