Thiruvananthapuram: After Maharashtra and Karnataka, Kerala will also witness the distinction of husband and wife, holding the post of Chief Secretary of the state. The state cabinet meeting held here on Wednesday decided to appoint Sarada Muraleedharan as the next Chief Secretary. She will take over the reins from her husband V Venu who retires on August 31. Sarada is currently the additional chief secretary of the local self-government department.
Recently Shalini Rajneesh took charge as the Chief Secretary of Karnataka replacing her husband Rajneesh Goel. In Maharashtra, Sujata Saunik became the state's first woman chief secretary in June. Her husband Manoj Saunik had retired as the Chief Secretary on December 31, 2023.
Sarada told Onmanorama that she had the unique privilege of shadowing her husband in the role of a Chief Secretary. “I could watch from close quarters the various challenges a Chief Secretary faces and how those challenges are handled. That is an opportunity not everyone gets. We (she and Venu) discuss almost all the issues that come up and it has given a full picture of how things needed to be done,'' she said.
Sarada said that her first challenge is to carry on the initiatives put in motion by the present CS. Rebuilding Wayanad will be a key priority, she said. “It will be a challenge. But the state has shown the strength and endurance to bounce back. My job is to facilitate it and to be a part of it,” she said.
She got married to Venu in 1991 at Guruvayur. Sarada was then the assistant collector under training in Ujjain while Venu was the Thrissur sub-collector.
Her key areas of interest have been women empowerment, poverty reduction and social justice. Sarada headed the Kudumbashree Mission for six years from 2006 to 2012, and then went on to be Chief Operating Officer at the National Rural Livelihoods Mission of the Ministry of Rural Development till December 2013. She had pioneered various initiatives at Kudumbasree during her tenure. As the ACS, LSGD, Sarada spearheaded the formulation of local-level disaster management plan for local bodies in the state and made it a crucial component in planning process. She has also been instrumental in the implementation of the state government's poverty alleviation missions.
