Padma-Winning IAS Officer Who ‘Powered’ a State Passes Away: 5 Facts About TL Sankar

On 26 December 2018, TL Sankar, the man who has been credited with laying the foundation of industrialisation in undivided Andhra Pradesh and the much sought-after expert who also made a mark as a people’s IAS officer, passed away following a stroke and brain haemorrhage at the age of 90. He is survived by his two sons.

This was a dark day in the lives of his near and dear ones and also people in both states who have witnessed his work through the years. According to a Deccan Chronicle report, the funeral will be held at Mahaprasthanam in Jubilee Hills today.

Here’s all you need to know about the model IAS officer :

1) Thiruvengadam Lakshman Sankar was a 1975 batch IAS officer, and chairman of the AP Electricity Board.

2) Apart from being an energy adviser to the Planning Commission, he headed several projects of the Centre in the coal, gas, electricity and energy sectors. He was the founding father of Andhra Pradesh Technology Services and contributed largely to e-governance.

3) In a tribute, the Telangana IAS officers Association said that the first-generation entrepreneurs from Hyderabad, who have managed to make a mark, owe their initiation to him. He also played a pivotal role in public, private partnership in the power sector and its subsequent reforms.

4.) He was offered the post of Union Secretary, Director, Institute of Public Enterprises, and Principal, Administrative Staff College of India, but chose to be Director General of the National Institute of Rural Development.

5) He retired from the Indian Administrative Services after an illustrious 35-year long career. On his superannuation, he joined as the Principal of Administrative Staff College (ASCI) of India in 1993.

Apart from working within the country, he also served as a consultant to Asian Development Bank, United Nations, and World Bank on Energy and Development issues and served short assignments in Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Tanzania, Ghana and other countries.

In 2004, he was presented with the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award.

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Offering his condolences, Telangana Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar, highlighted TL Sankar’s services in the then united Andhra Pradesh. DC further reports how the former IAS officer ran his own NGO, which worked on harnessing the power of solar energy in schools, solar home lighting, children’s solar study lamps, solar street lamps, family-size biogas plants, clean cooking solutions, ‘smokeless chullahs’ for rural households, mid-day meal cooking stoves etc.

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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