New corpn chief Gagandeep Singh Bedi is disaster management expert

New corpn chief Gagandeep Singh Bedi is disaster management expert

Directed Relief Efforts During Tsunami, Floods, Gaja

Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com

Chennai:10.05.2021

Senior IAS officer and principal secretary of the agriculture department Gagandeep Singh Bedi was appointed as the commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation on Sunday, replacing G Prakash. Prakash had been in the post since February 2019.

Since no elected council is in place, Bedi also becomes the de-facto special officer who will be able to take all crucial decisions taken by the council. He has been given charge of the civic body at a time when Chennai’s daily Covid-19 cases have reached a high of 6,000 and have not yet peaked.

Bedi is a well-known bureaucrat who has won awards including that of ‘Indian of the Year’ given out by a private news TV organisation for his work during the 2004 Tsunami, when he was collector of Cuddalore.

His image as a disaster management expert was enhanced by his work during the floods in 2005 and more recently, during the Gaja cyclone in 2018.

Bedi was also the officer who investigated the illegal beach sand mining in Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts and presented a report to the state government. He has also been at the helm of the fisheries department.

Sources in the TN bureaucracy said Bedi was earmarked for this particular role by the current political dispensation. “He is a very planned person who puts in his best efforts. He is also very soft-spoken,” an official said.

During his tenure, Prakash was known for aggressive field visits and encouraging fresh ideas from officials. GCC’s social media accounts were revamped and ideas such as corona monitoring app and home quarantine monitoring system were developed. Greening in Chennai received a fillip with waste lands converted into Miyawaki forests.

However, GCC continued to face allegations of tender fixing during Prakash’s tenure as well. Prakash, who lives in a locality on East Coast Road (ECR), faced a backlash from fellow ECR residents over construction of a German bank-funded, costly stormwater drain project which they said was unnecessary.

Bedi, a senior IAS officer, is taking over the reins as Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner from G Prakash, who served in the post since February 2019