Alphons Kannanthanam

K. J. Alphons Kannanthanam (born 8 August 1953) is an Indian politician and retired civil servant. He belongs to the 1979 batch of the IAS, Kerala cadre. He was in Time Magazine's list of 100 Young Global Leaders. He pioneered the literacy movement in India by making Kottayam the first 100% literate town in India in 1989. As Commissioner DDA he demolished 14310 illegal buildings in Delhi. He was born in Kottayam District, Kerala, India, and was an independent Member of the Legislative Assembly for Kanjirappally in Kottayam District, Kerala from 2006 to 2011.^[2] He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2011 and is a Member of the BJP National Executive .

Early life

Alphons Kannanthanam was born in Manimala, Kottayam District, to K.V.Joseph and Brijith Joseph. His father was a World War II veteran who became a school teacher after the war. His parents had nine children; they adopted two more from the orphanage.

Kannanthanam received his early education in Malayalam medium village schools near his place of birth. He completed his masters in Economics, and was one of the toppers of the Civil Services Examination in the year 1979.

Kannanthanam worked in the Indian Administrative Service until 2006, when he was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly, from Kanjirappally in Kottayam District, Kerala with the support of Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF). He is also a practicing advocate in the High court and the Supreme Court of India.

Career

Alphons Kannanthanam first came into prominence when he served as the district collector of Kottayam in 1988. He drove the literacy movement in the state and helped make Kottayam town as the first 100% literate town in India in 1989.

His national profile rose when, as the Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority from , he demolished illegal buildings and reclaimed land worth more than Rs. 10,000 crores.^[3] These actions earned him the title, The Demolition Man.^[4] Times of India survey showed that 89.6% of Delhiites supported his action, the highest rating for any public official any time.^[5] The action also listed him in Time Magazine's 100 young global leaders in 1994 (cover story-5th Dec, 1994).^[6]

In 2006, he resigned from the IAS and entered politics by becoming an LDF supported independent Member of the Legislative Assembly from Kanjirappally.^[7]

On 24 March 2011, Alphons joined the BJP in the presence of party president Nitin Gadkari, after having resigned from his assembly seat a couple of hours prior.^[8]

References

External links

Official website