Thiruvananthapuram: There is a change at the helm of Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited, as M. Beena has been granted a long leave. P. Bala Kiran, currently serving as Director of Tourism, will hold additional charge of Chief Executive Officer of the company.
There are other major changes at Smart City, as it has recruited its Chief Financial Officer, General Manager and Manager (Project Management & Monitoring). Prasanna Kumar is the CFO, Sanoop Gopikrishna, GM and Jerry Jose, new manager. Even if the top official changes, this set will be able to ensure that work continues, according to sources.
Beena will be on child care leave from Saturday to April 15, 2019. Earlier it was learnt that she was recommended for a central government deputation to Cochin Port Trust Limited. According to sources, she had applied for the deputation years ago, as her husband was posted in Kochi, but processing the application took a long time. She reportedly wanted to stay back with her children who were in classes X and XII.
Beena was appointed to the top post as the Corporation reportedly had issues with her predecessor K. Gopalakrishnan. Under her leadership, the company rode out a major storm, when Wadia Techno Engineering Services Limited, which was blacklisted by Assam PWD, was chosen as the Smart City consultant. The mayor had then applauded Beena for her active interventions before IPE Global could be chosen as the consultant.
Later when it was reported that the CEO might go on a deputation, the mayor had told DC that they were not anxious. But, sources said that they were concerned about the break in continuity when a new person would take charge. Now that it is the tourism director holding additional charge, it might help the tourism-related Smart City projects, according to sources.
