Crusader against Corruption

As he took up the new post, the bureaucrat placed a sign on his office door: “Reject bribes. Hold your head high.” While crusading against corruption, the IAS officer had clashed with powerful politicians and bureaucrats, causing him 26 transfers in 29 years. “I know I sit under a dangerous slogan. But I have been the same Sagayam from day one,” said the distinguished anti-corruption senior IAS officer in Tamil Nadu.

After qualifying for the Civil Services Exam, Sagayam joined the Central Secretariat Service in 1989. After working in New Delhi for seven months, he voluntarily resigned it to serve his state’s people. After his appointment in the Tamil Nadu State Civil Service, he was promoted to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of the 2001 batch.

When he was appointed as the District Collector of Namakkal in 2009, the then 47-year-old Sagayam posted his personal assets on the district website: a bank balance of Rs 7,172 and a house worth Rs 9 lakh in Madurai, jointly owned with his wife. He was the first IAS officer in Tamil Nadu to do this.

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