Bengaluru: Senior IAS officer M. Lakshminarayana, who served as a secretary to three previous chief ministers, was appointed on Thursday as BBMP commissioner. The incumbent, Siddaiah, will retire on Friday.

After the new Congress government took charge, Lakshminarayana was moved out of the chief minister’s office to the urban development department as principal secretary. He has been transferred again to the prestigious BBMP commissioner’s post.

A 1987-batch IAS officer, Lakshminarayana has to tackle the crumbling infrastructure and rain-related woes in the city. Siddaiah took charge as BBMP commissioner for the second time with six months of his tenure remaining when the garbage problem was at its peak.

Siddaiah carried forward from his predecessor Rajneesh Goel, who was instrumental in getting the garbage by-law formulated. Soon after assuming charge, Siddaiah held a series of talks with protesting farmers from Mandur, Lakshmipura, Bingipura and other places and promised them that dumping of garbage near their villages would be stopped. He sought their cooperation till other waste processing units were set up.

Lakshmin­arayana, who is from Bengaluru, has served in various capacities. He will take charge from Siddaiah on Friday. The government has also appointed T.M. Vijay Bhaskar as principal secretary, rural development and panchayatraj, Dr E.V. Ramana Reddy as principal secretary, housing department, P.N. Sreenivasachary as principal secretary, urban development department and Dr Suresh Kunhi Mohammed as mission director, National Rural Health Mission.