Kochi: Former chairman of the KESB and Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission TM Manoharan passed away around 7.30 pm at his residence in Unnichira here on Saturday, January 3. He was 71.

Also a former chief of the State Forest and Wildlife Department, Manoharan had been under treatment for Parkinson's disease for a while.

Hailing from Thrissur, Manoharan's last rites would be conducted at the Changampuzha crematorium in Edapally at 4 pm on Sunday, January 4.

Manoharan, who joined the Indian Forest Service in 1976, served as the KSEB's chairman for more than seven years from 2001. He had been credited with ending the recurring power cuts in the State.

Condoling his death, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Manoharan, who led the KSEB for seven years, displayed exemplary skills in other sectors where he had been posted.

Hailed as "Mr Perfect" in the KSEB, Manoharan brought the board to order with his strict discipline. His two terms, spanning seven years, at the KSEB's helm, made him the longest-serving chairman of any electricity board in the country. He was a management expert in the power sector.

Manoharan's strict handling of the board initially ran into opposition. However, he soon won the confidence of the employees by being one among them.

An IIT-Madras alumnus, He held a post-graduate degree in Chemistry.