Senior IAS officer Neerabh Kumar Prasad has been appointed as the chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh, taking over from KS Jawahar Reddy. Prasad, a 1987 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, expressed his gratitude to Chandrababu Naidu for the opportunity and pledged to diligently implement the new government’s development and welfare initiatives.

Prasad assumed office on Friday, shortly after his appointment. His predecessor, KS Jawahar Reddy, a 1990-batch IAS officer, went on leave after meeting with Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, who is set to become the next chief minister on June 12. Reddy, who turned 60 on June 2, is expected to retire at the end of this month.

Previously, Prasad served as the special chief secretary in charge of the environment, forest, science, and technology departments in Andhra Pradesh.

In addition to Prasad’s appointment, the state government has transferred three other senior IAS officers: Poonam Malakondaiah, R Muthyala Raju, and Narayan Bharat Gupta, who were significant figures in the outgoing YS Jagan Mohan Reddy administration. These officials have been instructed to report to the general administration department.

Insiders revealed that the government has decided to retain bureaucrats and top police officials who were deputed during the Jagan Mohan Reddy regime. Among those requesting to be relieved from their duties are Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams executive officer A V Dharma Reddy, AP State Fibernet Limited managing director Madhusudhan Reddy, AP State Mineral Development Corporation MD V G Venkat Reddy, state information commissioner Tumma Vijay Kumar Reddy, AP State Beverages Corporation MD Vasudeva Reddy, state industries corporation MD Ch Rajeshwar Reddy, and inspector general of stamps and registration Ramakrishna.

Several officials have also applied for inter-state transfers. For instance, the special chief secretary of the finance department, SS Rawat, and the special chief secretary of municipal administration, Y Srilakshmi, have requested to transfer to the Telangana cadre. However, the government has denied all such requests, instructing the officials to remain in their current positions until Naidu assumes office and assesses the situation.

Additionally, the government has decided not to grant leave to top bureaucrats pending inquiries into their alleged misconduct during the previous administration.

On Thursday, the government ordered the immediate removal of all advisors appointed by the previous administration. Advisors such as Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy (public affairs), Devulapalli Amar (national media), GVD Krishna Mohan (information), and principal advisor to the CM Ajay Kallam, among others, resigned shortly after the YSRCP lost the elections.

Similarly, Hemachandra Reddy (chairman of the state council of higher education), Bhumana Karunakara Reddy (TTD chairman), Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy (additional advocate general), Yarram Reddy Nagi Reddy (state public prosecutor), and Dushyant Reddy (additional public prosecutor) have also submitted their resignations.