A month after taking charge as the Governor of Tamil Nadu, R.N. Ravi has sought details on the functioning of various departments and presentations on the implementation of welfare schemes, sources at the State Secretariat said.
Acting on the directive, Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu wrote to the Heads of Departments, asking them to prepare presentations for the Governor.
In his letter, the Chief Secretary said, “The Governor of Tamil Nadu wishes to know about the functioning of certain departments in the State and ongoing welfare schemes of the State as well as the Union Government.”
Mr. Anbu requested the Secretaries of the departments concerned to be prepared to apprise the Governor accordingly.
Mr. Ravi, a retired IPS officer (1976 batch), was the Governor of Nagaland before being moved to Tamil Nadu.
The Kerala cadre officer had served in the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Intelligence Bureau. He had also served as the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in the Prime Minister’s Office.
There was a controversy over the Governor inspecting or reviewing the functioning of various departments when Banwarilal Purohit decided to conduct review meetings in the districts during the previous regime.
The DMK, then an Opposition party, criticised Mr. Purohit’s decision, saying it amounted to interference in the functioning of a democratically elected government. The party even braved arrests and held black flag demonstrations during his visits to some districts.
While the then AIADMK government chose to back him, Mr. Purohit ignored the Opposition’s criticism that he was trampling upon the State’s autonomy by conducting review meetings. He went on to defend his actions by saying the review meetings helped him appreciate the good work being done by the authorities.
