'Demolition Man' Alphons Kannanthanam appointed Chandigarh administrator

Bureaucrat-turned-politician Alphons Kannanthanam is a member of BJP national executive.  He gained the nickname 'Demolition Man' for leading a crackdown on illegal buildings in New Delhi.  As district collector of Kottayam, he spearheaded the literacy drive which saw it emerge as India's first 100% literate town. Kannanthanam was enlisted in the Time magazine's 100 young global leaders in 1994.  

BJP leader and former IAS officer Alphons Kannanthanam has been appointed as the administrator of Chandigarh. Kannanthanam's position would be equal to the rank of lieutenant governor. 

Chandigarh, a Union Territory under the direct control of the Central functions as the capital city of both, Punjab and Haryana. The appointment of Kannanthanam mark a shift from tradition as for over three decades, the Governors of Punjab used to be in charge of the Administrator of Chandigarh. 

"It is a great honour," said Kannanthanam in his first response after the appointment. "Chandigarh is a very complicated place, as the capital of two states with two Governors... My priority would be to ensure good administration," he added. 

Kannanthanam worked in the Indian Administrative Service until 2006 before quitting it for joining politics. As a bureaucrat, he rose to fame by leading the total literacy campaign in Kottayam town during his tenure as the district collector there. The municipal town was declared 100% literate in 1989, the first town in India to achieve the rare feat. 

Later he was appointed as the Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority and hit headlines for leading a crackdown on illegal buildings in the national capital. The drive earned him the nickname ‘Demolition Man’. He was listed in Time magazine's 100 young global leaders in 1994.

 The bureaucrat was elected to Kerala Assembly from Kanjirappally in Kottayam with the support of the Communist Party of India-Marxist in 2006. But much to the shock of the Left parties that elevated him to a legislator, Kannanthanam resigned his post and joined the BJP in 2011. Since then he has been serving as a member of BJP's national executive.