Published Sep 16, 2026 | 3:34 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 16, 2026 | 3:34 PM
Outgoing Collector Arjun Pandian handed over charge to Sreedhanya at the Collectorate.
Synopsis: Sreedhanya Suresh, IAS, assumed charge as Kasaragod District Collector on Wednesday, becoming the first woman from a Scheduled Tribe community to hold the post in Keralam. The 2019-batch IAS officer from the Kurichya community in Wayanad became the State’s first tribal woman to clear the UPSC civil services examination in 2018. Her appointment is part of a reshuffle of district administrations in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Wayanad and Kasaragod.
Sreedhanya Suresh, IAS, assumed charge as Kasaragod District Collector on Wednesday, 16 September, becoming the first woman from a Scheduled Tribe community to assume the post in Keralam.
Outgoing Collector Arjun Pandian handed over charge to Sreedhanya at the Collectorate.
A 2019-batch IAS officer, Sreedhanya was serving as Commissioner, Food Safety, before her appointment as Collector. She belongs to the Kurichya community and grew up in a tribal settlement in Wayanad’s Pozhuthana panchayat in a family dependent on daily-wage work.
She became Keralam’s first tribal woman to clear the UPSC civil services examination in 2018, securing an All India Rank of 410.
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Sreedhanya’s appointment as Kasaragod District Collector is part of a reshuffle of the district administrations in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Wayanad and Kasaragod.
Anju KS, a 2017-batch IAS officer and Director, State Lotteries, has been transferred and posted as Thiruvananthapuram District Collector. She will also hold the full additional charge of Chairperson of the Monitoring Committee constituted to resolve rehabilitation issues related to the Vizhinjam Port project.
Anu Kumari, a 2018-batch IAS officer who was Thiruvananthapuram Collector, has been transferred and posted as Special Commissioner, GST.
Arjun Pandian, a 2017-batch IAS officer, has been transferred from Kasaragod and posted as Director, Agriculture Development and Farmers Welfare Department. He will also hold additional charge as Additional Project Director, KERA; Registrar of Co-operative Societies; and Director of Co-operative Audit.
Chelsasini V, a 2019-batch IAS officer and Director, Fisheries Department, has been transferred and posted as Wayanad District Collector.
Priyanka G, a 2017-batch IAS officer and Ernakulam District Collector, will hold the full additional charge of Chief Executive Officer, Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority, in addition to her existing additional charge.
Sikha Surendran, a 2018-batch IAS officer and Thrissur District Collector, will hold the full additional charge of Director General, Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), in addition to her existing additional charge.
(With inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman and Dileep V Kumar)
