Maharashtra government appoints IAS officer Sanjay Sethi as MSRTC chairman

In an unprecedented move the Maharashtra government has appointed a senior IAS officer as chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC deviating from the longstanding practice of assigning the post to a public representativeAs per PTI a gazette notification issued on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Transport Secretary Sanjay Sethi an additional chief secretaryrank officer to the position Traditionally the role has been occupied by the transport minister or other elected representatives The most recent chairman Bharat Gogawale a legislator from the Shiv Sena faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde resigned from the post after being inducted into the state governmentPTI reports that this decision may lead to controversy as many believe it presents a conflict of interest Notably in his capacity as transport secretary Sethi is already an exofficio member of the MSRTC A former transport department official speaking anonymously criticised the appointment stating It is a clear case of conflict of interest You cannot send a proposal with one hand and approve it with the other He further pointed out that with this appointment the MSRTC board now lacks public representationThe Maharashtra government justified the decision by citing the need for immediate leadership at MSRTC According to PTI Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik who also belongs to the Shiv Sena had recently written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging the appointment of a chairman at the earliestMaharashtra government transfers seven IAS officersTheMaharashtra governmenton Tuesday transferred seven IAS officers including senior IAS officer Dhiraj Kumar who was appointed the Secretary in the Medical Education department an official order said on Tuesday reported news agency PTIIAS officer Krishnakant Kanwariya has been appointed as Additional District Collector at Shahada division in Nandurbar district Shaila A has been appointed Secretary in the Finance department the order said reported PTIMangesh Awhad has been appointed the Chief Executive Officer in theMaharashtra Medical Goods Purchase AuthorityManisha Verma has been appointed as Additional Chief Secretary in the Skill Development departmentGanesh Patil is the new Secretary in the Irrigation and Water Resources department while Richa Bagla has been appointed as the Secretary in the Finance department the order said reported PTIEarlier this month the Maharashtra government has undertaken a significant reshuffle of its senior bureaucratic cadre by transferring eight Indian Administrative Service IAS officers to new postings reported PTI This move places several officers in critical roles across departmentsAmong the key appointments Ruchesh Jayvanshi has been assigned the position of Secretary in the Minority Development Department marking a crucial shift in administrative responsibilities Sachinchandra Pratap has been appointed as the Education Commissioner inPune where he will oversee education policies and initiatives reported PTIRavindra Binavade has been designated as Inspector General Stamp Duty His role will involve monitoring and regulating stamp duty collections a significant source of revenue for the state Meanwhile Suraj Mandhre and Pradeep P have been posted as Commissioners in the Agriculture and Fisheries Departments respectively both of which are vital to Maharashtrarsquos rural economy and livelihood reported PTIPrashant Narnavre has been appointed Secretary in the General Administration Department and will also serve as Special Investigation Officer further strengthening administrative oversight The School Education and Sports Department will now see Ranjit Singh Deol as its Principal Secretary a role pivotal to shaping education and sports policies in the state reported PTIAshok Karanjkar has been named the Managing Director of theMaharashtraState Finance Corporation an entity responsible for driving financial support for small and mediumsized enterprises within the stateWith inputs from PTI