The government of Andhra Pradesh has lately appointed former IAS officer, Dr. P. Krishnaiah, as the Chairman of the AP pollution control board. Until now, the Chief Secretary, Mr. Neerabh Kumar Prasad has been serving as in-charge chairman of APPCB since the resignation of the former Chief Secretary, Mr. Sameer Sharma after the change of regime in the state. Subsequently, the state govt constituted a high-level committee for the selection of the chairperson of AРРСВ.
The panel, deciding on the matter, after going through various applications, recommended the name of retired bureaucrat Dr. Krishnalah for the coveted post. Dr. Krishnalah served as APIIC chairman during the previous TDP regime and had been a close aide of Chief Minister Naidu. The bureaucrat also served as a trustee of the NTR Trust managed by Naidu’s family. Dr. P. Krishnalah completed his postgraduate diploma in environmental education and management, environmental economics, and a Ph.D. in economics. He served as joint collector for Guntur and Rangareddy districts, joint secretary to the chief minister when Chandrababu Naidu was CM of undivided Andhra Pradesh and collector for Mahabubnagar and Chittoor districts.
Retd. IAS Krishnalah held the coveted post of Executive Officer to Tirumala, Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), chief vigilance officer, MGNREGS, and advisor to Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation. He played a key role in attracting tig-ticket investments to the state during 2014-19 as executive chairman of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC), Krishnalah is known as a very simple and honest administrator. Interestingly, Krishnalah is the first person to get the nominated post after TDP returned to power in June.
