THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: M Sivasankar, former principal secretary of the chief minister and IT Secretary, was known as a ‘problem solver’ in the IAS circles. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was very impressed with him as he was an efficient official. The faith the chief minister had in him brought him to the post of the principal secretary to the chief minister. He was appointed to the post bypassing all other senior bureaucrats.

The senior most officer of the state civil service cadre used to work day and night. The soft-spoken official had severed ties with the IAS Association two years back. His appointment as principal secretary irked the regular IAS officers. Sivasankar is the only conferred IAS official and the first to reach the top post. He is an engineering graduate and has a master’s degree in business administration. Many don’t know that he started his official career with the RBI.

He was conferred with IAS in 1995 following his appointment as deputy collector. It was Sivasankar who was behind the launch of the first smart ration card and also in implementing one time shop for payment of utility bills FRIENDS. He was appointed KSEB chairman while serving as the power secretary.

According to a senior official, Sivasankar was an honest official. He said that he was shocked when Sivasankar’s name was linked with Swapna Suresh. Majority of the IAS officers opine that Sivasankar cannot be at fault for the appointment of Swapna as project manager of Space Park coming under the IT Department.

Many think Pricewaterhouse Coopers asked National Informatics Centre for a suitable official and they appointed Swapna as per the request of the IT Department. However, Sivasankar’s close relationship with Swapna is the reason for his fall.