Veteran civil servant P.N. Vedanarayanan died at his residence here on Saturday after a brief illness. He was 91. He is survived by his daughter Shobana Ramesh and son Bragadeesh.
Born in Tiruchi on June 4, 1933, Vedanarayanan was an alumni of St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchi, with a postgraduate degree in political science and economics. He was appointed to the Indian Administrative Service in May 1955.
S. Guhan, who rose to the position of Finance Secretary in the 1970s, and T.N. Seshan, who shot to national fame after he held the post of Chief Election Commissioner, were among his batch-mates.
Vedanarayanan began his career in the erstwhile North Arcot district and was posted as the Collector of the composite Thanjavur district in August 1962, an experience which stood him in good stead when he held the posts of Agriculture Secretary and Agricultural Production Commissioner (October 1970-April 1974).
In February 1966, the State government created the post of Commissioner for Milk Production and Livestock Development and chose him for the post. He also held the positions of Vigilance Commissioner and Commissioner for Administrative Reforms, and his services were extended by six months up to December 1991, during the latter tenure.
He was also the president of the retired IAS Officers’ Association.
Former Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam, who holds a postgraduate degree in agricultural economics, described Vedanarayanan as a man with a “passion for agriculture”. Even years after retirement from service, he involved himself in agricultural activities and maintained a close relationship with research stations and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. He favoured the promotion of pulses in the Cauvery delta as “a pure crop”, he recalled.
S. Ramasundaram, who was a treasurer of the Association when Mr. Vedanarayanan was the president, said “as the president, he always guided and encouraged us”.
Nannilam V. Ravichandran, a leading farmer of Tiruvarur district, said Vedanarayanan had a thorough knowledge of every village in the old Thanjavur district and the irrigation network of the region.
