Cousins head Tamil Nadu, Kerala administrations

Chennai: Tamil Nadu and Kerala have an interesting, and very encouraging, new 'relationship' happening on Saturday that might even ease the water tensions between the two states if the politicians refrain from messing around.

Ms Nalini Netto, the cousin of TN chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan is taking charge as Kerala chief secretary on that day. Both belong to the 1981 IAS batch and share common interests and ideals as tough and no-nonsense administrators.

Known for her high integrity and toughness, just like her cousin in Chennai, Nalini as the transport secretary in 1999 had taken on her minister Neelalohitadasan Nadar when he tried to misbehave, leading to his resignation and even conviction by a subordinate court. Though the Janata Dal minister managed to get acquittal on appeal, the message did sink in strong that the tough officer would not tolerate nonsense from anyone, however high and mighty that person might be.

Girija Vaidyanathan, daughter of former RBI Governor S. Venkitaramanan, was appointed as TN chief secretary last December. Prior to her elevation to the top of the Kerala bureaucracy, Nalini was the additional CS holding charge of Home and Vigilance, besides functioning as secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. She will retire from service in August this year.

Asked if she phoned her cousin to congratulate, Girija Vaidyanathan laughed and said they are in “regular touch” not only because they're close relatives - Nalini is the daughter of her father's sister - but also because they are both from the 1981 IAS batch. In fact, the chief secretaries of Andhra Pradesh (Satya Prakash Tucker) and Karnataka (Subash Chandra Khuntia) also belong to the same batch.

“Most of us have done well. It's a nice feeling”, said Girija Vaidyanathan, speaking about the stellar performance of the 1981 batch officers now holding pivotal positions in various states as well as at the Centre.