ENARADA, Bangalore, October 31, 2013:
Mr. Kaushik Mukherjee today became the 33rd Chief Secretary of Karnataka.
Belonging to the 1978 batch of the IAS, he assumed charge from Mr. S V Ranganath, who retired from service on superannuation.
“I will discharge my duties sincerely and honestly”, the 58-year-old told reporters at the Chief Secretary’s office on the third floor of the Vidhana Soudha, the State Secretariat. New Chief Secretary’s tenure is till September 2015. Senior officers from various departments congratulated him.
Mukherjee favoured allowing mining in forest areas with government permission, noting that the industry in the State requires huge quantity of iron ore.
He indicated that the Government would crack down on encroachment of forest lands, saying it would not be tolerated. About 40,000 hectares of such land in Karnataka had been encroached upon.
The government would also focus on improving Bangalore’s roads to ease traffic woes, Mukherjee said.
