She will also hold full additional charge of Vigilance Commissioner and Commissioner for Administrative Reforms.

Girija Vaidyanathan, Additional Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Land Administration, has been appointed Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu in place of P. Rama Mohana Rao, a Government Order said on Thursday.

Ms.Vaidyanathan will also hold full additional charge of Vigilance Commissioner and Commissioner for Administrative Reforms.

This appointment comes following the searches conducted by the Income Tax Department on Wednesday at the houses and chamber of Mr. Rao and many other places concerning him. Opposition parties had demanded that Mr. Rao be sacked, after Rs. 30 lakh cash in new currency and 5 kg of gold was seized from his residence.

An officer of the 1981 batch of the Indian Administrative Service, Ms.Vaidyanathan has a postgraduate degree in physics.

Ms.Vaidyanathan has been Commissioner of Land Administration since 2013. She was closely involved in the formulation of rules for the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

When the AIADMK government took over in May 2011, she was made Health Secretary and she held the post for one year. She played a role in the launch of the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, a revised version of the previous scheme implemented during the previous DMK regime.

Ms. Vaidyanathan held other positions such as School Education Secretary (2005-2006) and Member of the State Planning Commission (2007-2008).