V.S. Achuthanandan was a diligent worker till the end, helming the Administrative Reforms Commission

When the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by Pinarayi Vijayan came to power in 2016, speculation was rife as to how the new government would accommodate Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] veteran and former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.

The State Cabinet put speculations to rest in October that year by appointing Mr. Achuthanandan as the Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission. The post came with a Cabinet rank.

Mr. Achuthanandan officially led the commission, which had as its members former Chief Secretaries C.P. Nair and Neela Gangadharan, till January 2021. Mr. Achuthanandan, who was in his late 90s by then, had not been keeping well.

But during those five years, the commission came out with 14 detailed reports — averaging nearly three a year — on a wide range of topics. The 14th report dealt with the commission’s own performance.

First report

The first report was on the vigilance system. In the preface to the report submitted to the government in August 2017, Mr. Achuthanandan observed; “That there are limitations to the vigilance mechanism means loopholes exist for corruption. That is the reason why the commission, as its first recommendation, has prioritised the formation of a State Vigilance Commission and a Vigilance Directorate.”

Sheela Thomas, the former IAS officer who was member secretary to the commission, recalls that Mr. Achuthanandan was active in the commission’s functions till the point where health issues forced him to step down. “He was quite active and attended all the meetings and the public hearings organised by the commission. The commission’s reports dealt with issues ranging from personnel reforms, capacity development of civil servants, governance issues to sustainable development,” Ms. Thomas said on Monday.

The 12th and 13th reports dealt with finance and planning and secretariat reforms. Making public his resignation through a facebook post on January 30, 2021, Mr. Achuthanandan said that the commission had travelled the length and breadth of the State, consulted people, and organised seminars and meetings. He had gone on to observe that “the value of the money spent on the commission would be determined by the actions on the recommendations placed before the government. I hope it will happen.”